


The Untold Story: One Piece, Her Legend

by AttilianKing



Category: One Piece
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Female Monkey D. Luffy, Gen, M/M, Multi, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-28
Updated: 2015-12-29
Packaged: 2018-05-09 23:16:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 5
Words: 27,478
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5559479
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AttilianKing/pseuds/AttilianKing
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>You said that only the precious of the precious that can pay my sin, right?" she smiled toward the grave in front of her. "Then i will give it to you the most precious treasure there is." Taking her long-dead dad's hat, Portgas D. Luce went on a journey to repaid her father's sin and became as the freest person in the world. Fem!Luffy Story, pairing undecided</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Pirate, Portgas. D Luce

**Author's Note:**

> Straight from my fanfic account, the story of the demon daughter with power to destroy the world and her crew

It all started with a fruit, an atypical fruit that was being sold in one of the many stands in the merchant district of a certain island in the Grand Line. The fruit itself was what could be described as out of this world, it looked rather rough, with a large bundle of berry-like fruits tightly compressed together while forming the shape of clashing spirals, its color was blue with a dash of white and blue along the sides of the fruit.

It was certainly unique, and in its uniqueness the fruit managed to grab the attention of a certain girl that was passing by. The girl's black eyes looked at the fruit curiously, her small stature standing in front of a rather shady looking stall where the fruit was being sold. She broke her look on the fruit as her gaze slowly shifted to the owner of the stall.

It was a man, an old man with pale white skin and a gruff looking beard. The man was sitting behind his stall garbed in a black cloak hiding most of his body. “Umm, mister?” the girl asked as the wind gently blew making her black hair flow along with the wind.

“Yes, brat?” the old man asked as he looked at his customer, a girl wearing a black nun outfit under a white scapular, a dark mini-skirt with a sheer overlay, white cuff socks and dark dress shoes. On top of her head, she also wears a white coif and black veil on top of her head. The girl also has black eyes and slightly fair skin along with her long black hair that reaches her waist.

“Neh, mister what is this?” the girl asked as she pointed at the strange fruit on top of the man's stall.

“Ahhhh” the man said smirking as he played with his white beard with his free hand, “That is just a fruit I picked up in my travels.”

“Travels?”

“Yes” the man cleared his throat “I have travelled to places beyond this little island. I have traversed all four seas; I have been through the new world and back. I am the-” he looked at the girl and noticed she wasn't paying attention her eyes still fixed on the fruit. The man smiled “I guess I'm not important.” He cleared his throat once more to get the girl's attention. “Do you want to take the fruit?” he asked.

The girl shook her head “No, I'm not supposed to take things from people I don't know”

“Did someone told you to not take things from strangers?” the merchant joked.

“Hai” the girl admitted nodding her head as she did so.

“Why?”

“Because, the Sister in Church told us not to do it,” she said while grinning happily.

“And you believe her?”

“Yup,” the girl answered confidently.

The man stayed silent for a second, “You are really honest and idiot little-punk,” he said as he stood up slowly and took the strange fruit in hand before tossing it at the girl.

“Whoa~” the girl cutely said as she caught the strange fruit.

“Take it brat I have a feeling that you'll need this in the future.”

“Thank you for the fruit mister” the girl said, showing her beamed smile.

“It's not a problem brat, but can you answer a simple question”

“Hai? What do you want to ask mister?”

“What's your name?” the man asked, looking at the girl eyes.

“Hm? My name is Luce, Gol D. Luce.” The girl answered with honest expression.

The man paused for a moment before breaking out in a fit of chuckles “Hahahaha, this truly was a destined meeting” the man said laughing while hitting his leg with one hand while the other rested on his stomach.

“Muuhhh~ are you making fun of me?” the girl asked puffing her cheeks cutely as she hugged the fruit.

“No. I am just laughing at how fickle fate is” the old man said as he recovered from his small laughing anthic. “Why don't you try eating the fruit brat?”

“Mhmm~” the girl looked hesitant for a second before taking a bite out of the fruit. Three bites later the girl ate the entire fruit and safe to say the girl found it as the most disgusting thing she has ever tasted in her life. “Blergh! It tasted so bad, mister!” the girl complained as she stuck out her tongue.

“Hahaha I know it tastes bad but trust me from here on out things will just get better for you.” the man said proudly. He then looked at the horizon and noticed that it was almost sunset. “I think it's about time for you to go home brat. It's getting late.”

“Oh yeah, thanks for reminding m, mister. I don't want to get beaten by Mother again.” Luce said as she quickly left the stall and started running to her orphanage.

“Goodbye brat.” The old man whispered as he watched the girl's back disappearing along with the sun in the horizon. “What a weird brat I found?” he chuckled as he noticed something on the table.

It was small pouch and inside it was a small amount of money.

The old man looked at the money inside the small pouch as he chuckled, “what a weird brat, she is.”

**-The Untold Story: One Piece, Her Legend-**

**Chapter1: The Pirate, Portgas D. Luce**

The sun is high in the sky, shining brightly on calm blue seas and flocks of Seagulls happily soaring through the sky. A giant whirlpool swirls below them, bringing only certain death to any ship unlucky enough to sail near it.

Two sailors watch the whirlpool with mild interest and fear on a cruise ship when all of sudden they hear a loud sound coming from below.

One glances down to see a large barrel floating calmly in the sea, banging lightly against the ship.

He wondered briefly where the barrel came from but soon dismissed that thought and gestured for his partner to help him lift it out of the sea.

It was heavy and large for a barrel so both assumed that it had to contain large amounts of Sake

-xXx-

Inside the dance hall of the cruise ship, passengers mingled, conversed, and dined on the most expensive culinary food and fine champagne available.

A ship Admiral talks to his guests about how he was forced to take his position as the Admiral of a fleet of ships, rather than just one.

Meanwhile, a tangerine haired girl with cinnamon brown eyes watches the ocean in dream-like state until someone taps her shoulder.

She turns her head away from the calm scene to see a fine looking gentleman holding out his right hand to her. “I’m sorry if I have disturbed you madam, but I couldn’t help but to be overwhelmed by your beauty. May I ask for a dance,” he inclined his head slightly and the girl nodded, smiling slightly.

-xXx-

The two Sailors who were still trying to catch the barrel by using fishing hooks, but were failing miserably. Another Sailor on look-out watched them and laughed at his friends failures when something caught his eye.

A ship appeared from behind a small island they were passing but what the Sailor saw had him quivering in fear. The symbol flown on the Jolly Roger flag was a skull painted from the side with pink heart on its eye, the symbol for the Alvida Pirates.

“PIRATES! THE ALVIDA PIRATES! GO WARN THE CAPTAIN!” the Sailor yelled in panic.

The two below heard the scream and lowered the recently retrieved barrel to the deck before they begin to run towards the ballroom, yelling warnings as they go, leaving behind a barrel.

The Pirate ship starts to fire its canon at the cruise liner but misses by a mile, causing the ship to shake and the barrel to fall and roll.

Inside the ballroom people began to scream because of the sudden explosions as the two Sailors burst in. “Captain! We're under attack by the Alvida Pirates!”

“WHAT?!” but before Admiral could say anything to calm his guests another explosion hit near the ship causing the people to panic.

Guests swarmed towards the exits, running around like chickens with their heads cut off except for one tangerine hair girl who got left behind by a cowardly man. She smiles as if she had been expecting the attack.

At the other hand, the barrel the two sailors had left on deck continued to roll till it reached the kitchen where it finally stopped.

-xXx-

On the Pirate's deck, a group of mean looking men stared over at the cruise ship, all sporting evil grins of malice except for one small, chubby-looking boy with pink hair and round framed glasses. The timid boy is shaking like a leaf as he watches the other Pirates fire cannon balls at the cruise ship by the order of Captain Alvida.

“COBY! who is the most beautiful woman of all the sea?” Captain Alvida asked to the pink hair boy.

The poor boy stuttered, trying to find something to say, because she was NOT the most beautiful woman; in fact, she was the most hideous, nastiest, bad-tempered, violent and fattest woman of all the sea.

She had long, black, wavy flowing hair with freckles on her cheeks and she wore a pink shirt with lined designs, a red neckerchief under it and a blue captain's coat over it with the arms in the sleeves unlike many other pirates. Around her waist sat a purple sash with a flintlock pistol tucked in it and some jewels along with red painted fingernails. She sported red lipstick and a white cowboy hat with a red plumage and a light-green band around it, grayish pants and to top it all off red, long pointed shoes with buckles on them.

“Oh…uh…y-y-you are C-Captain Alv-v-vida ma'am” Coby replied with a nervous smile as he hoped won't get hit by Alvida's steel mace, that was her trademark weapon.

Alvida smirked, obviously pleased with his answer and then looked at the pirate ship and smirked as she leaned against the heavy spiked club. “That's right!” Captain Alvida said with a laugh.

One of her men smiled after firing a couple more cannon balls at the ship “Looks like we are finally going to get some action.”

Captain Alvida nodded cruelly “alright men, take it down.” When they finally got close enough to through their grappling hooks, Alvida swung her heavy club “Alright men, let's show them the terror of Iron Club Alvida, Lady Pirate of the sea!”

The Pirates hooked themselves to the ship using sharp looking fishing hooks and stormed the deck while the Sailors could do nothing but cower in fear. Speaking of fear, Coby still stood on Alvida's ship holding a rope that would swing him right towards the ship but he waited; too afraid to move.

“Coby, get going! I don't got all day,” Alvida hissed, feeling her anger rise at the fact that the stupid brat was still not moving from his spot. She clenched the knuckles holding her mace, ready to bash the boy in the head if he didn't move soon but Coby was too afraid to notice it.

“I c-c-can't Capt-t-t-ain, I'm n-n-not cut out f-for this,” he stuttered back at Alvida which made her blood boil like lava.

“What did you say, you worthless piece of SHIT?!” and then she lifted Coby off the deck and threw him to the other ship.

Coby shrieked in surprise and terror as he flew and when he landed his face came into contact with a metal wall and slid slowly down causing it to screech. He groaned in pain feeling his face burn and a possible broken nose and rolled himself over, laying on his back on the floor waiting for the pain to cease. Then all of a sudden everything got dark.

'Wait a minute, its nighttime already?' when he looked up in confusion he saw the sun get blocked by something big and round and heading right for him.

Upon closer inspection the big and round thing turned out to be a very ill-tempered Alvida with mace ready to pound the boy into submission. Coby let out a very unmanly scream and ran as fast as he could away from that menacing woman.

-xXx-

As soon as the pirates coming into the ship through grappling hooks, the ballroom was quickly filled with very savage-looking pirates. They all smirked at the cowering passengers. “Heh, don’t worry. We ain’t gonna kill ya. Though, we will take all the rare stuff you got here.” Snickered one of the pirates.

“And if anyone tries to do anything ‘heroic’ I’ll whack you all the way to the Grand Line with my mace and let the ocean dwellers feast on your flesh,” said Alvida appearing behind her crew.

The guests quickly did what she said and gave the pirates everything they had on them before fleeing the room, heading towards the escape crafts.

As the ballroom cleared only one girl remained. The girl with brown eyes watched the scene. With a light smile on her face, she removed her dress and she now wore a blue and white striped shirt with black shorts and a bandana tied around her head.

She ran out of the ship and she sneaked into the other ship, her plan already set in mind.

Once she landed quietly on the ship, she quickly began searching for a hatch that led to where they hid their treasure. Suddenly a man came out from Crew's Quarter spotting the girl.

“Huh, who the hell are you…are you a new crew member?” the man asked stupidly, the girl smiled at him and kicked him straight in the crotch.

-xXx-

Meanwhile, Coby was left all alone, wandering around the ship till he stumbled across the kitchen. He sighed in relief when he noticed that no Alvida Pirates had made there way here when he spotted the biggest barrel he had ever seen.

“What a large barrel, I wonder what is inside it.” He inspected the barrel up close and thought of an idea. This barrel was big which meant there was probably a lot of Sake and Pirates loved Sake. “Maybe this will keep them off my back for awhile.” He side and began to push it out of the kitchen.

“Well looky here, if it isn't our worthless coward. Hiding from the action again, Coby?”

Coby jumped and looked up at the three pirates, “W-what oh n-n-no I was just uh…” he tries to come up with a good excuse when a skinny looking Pirate spoke.

“What is in that barrel, Coby?”

“O-Oh! T-This! I-I was just talking this b-barrel I found back to the s-ship. It looks like it's full of delicious S-sake.” he sputtered. The three pirates smirked.

The biggest of the three lifted it up “We will just lighten that up for you then.”

The tallest grinned, “I was just starting to get thirsty.”

Coby shook his head and waved his hands around frantically “NO, YOU CAN'T CAPTAIN ALVIDA WILL BE MAD IF SHE FINDS YOU GUYS DRINKING” Coby tries to reason with those Pirates before they took his chance of freedom.

“If you keep your mouth shut, she won't know got it” said the third fat Pirate giving him the look that says 'say one word to her and I'll slit your throat'.

“Y-y-yeah sure n-no problem” here goes his chance of escape; the large Pirate cracked his knuckles to loosen up.

The biggest pirate cracked his knuckles. “Hold on now, boys. Let me open this in the old, fashion way.” he said as he raised his large fist to break the barrel open and delivers it down, when….

BANG

The barrel had suddenly busted open and person leapt out of it, knocking out the biggest pirate. The two other pirates and Coby gasped as they saw a seventeen-year old girl standing in the barrel.

The girl was a tall, long-legged, slender woman with black hair that covers her entire back. On the right side of her head, a small red ribbon is tied to several strands of her hair. She was wearing a white long sleeved button-up shirt that exposes her cleavage and stomach, a long dark skirt with double slits revealing the both sides of her legs and a pair of dark slip-on shoes.

The girl stretched her stiff body as she grinned, “Hm~ my sleep is really great.” She moaned happily as she looked around her and her eyes widened in confusion as she blinked. “Where am I?” She said as she looked at the pirates beside her. “Who the hell are you?”

“WHO THE HELL ARE YOU!” shouted the two other pirates angrily. The girl stepped out of the barrel.

“Your friend will catch a cold if he's sleeping like that.” she said.

“YOU'RE THE ONE WHO KNOCKED HIM OUT!” shouted the two other pirates. One of the pirates pulled out his sword. “Hold on. Are you playing with us when you know we're vicious pirates!” he demanded.

The thinner guy grinned, “Maybe you like to be roughed up a little?”

However, the girl had started to ignore them and was now giving her attention to the pink haired cabin boy “Do you have any food, right now? I'm pretty hungry now.” the girl said with innocent smile in her face, ignoring what the pirate said before.

“I'M TALKING TO YOU, BRAT!” shouted the pirate as he and his partner lifted their swords and they swung it toward the girl.

Coby scream in fright and covered his eyes as for the girl she's unfazed by their action.

CRASH

As soon as the sword meet the girl's head it's broke into pieces, leaving the girl unharmed.

The girl pouted, “What's wrong with you guys?” she asked putting her hands on her hip as she looked at the pirates that terrified at her.

“W-what in seven hells are you?” the pirates asked terrified.

“Me? My name is Portgas D. Luce. Hi.” Luce said with large smile. “Now to get some food.” She said licking her lips as she looked around.

“Mo..Mo…Monster!” They yelled, “It's not a girl! It's a monster that tricks men so that it can eat it!” They yelled as they ran away dragging their fallen comrade, leaving only Coby and Luce alone.

“Wha-What's... What's happening?” Coby finally asked as the girl shrugged beside him.

“Beats me.” the girl said ruffling the back of her hair.

Coby stood up, “Quick! You gotta run! If they come back with their buddies, then you'll be killed on the spot!” he shouted. Lucy smiled.

“I don't care. Where's the food? I'm hungry.” she said.

“How can you don't care at all! There are hundreds of them and they're willing to kill anybody!” shouted Coby. Luce wasn't paying attention. She looked around as she found some barrel full of food and her eyes gleaming. “Hey are you listening to me?”

“Yeah, yeah.” she said with uncaring tone as if she didn't pay any attention to what Coby said. She looked around then headed to the storage area and grinned, “Food!”

Coby sighed and looked out to check if anyone was coming “Maybe they didn't say anything, it would be embarrassing to be beat by a girl.” He said to himself and then looked at Luce, 'especially one that looks like that.'

-xXx-

As the pirates climbed out from the hatch they halted when they saw a very pissed looking Alvida with her deadly mace in her hand. “What were you doing down there?” she asked in a slow and low tone that almost sound like hissing, her mace held in a vice grip.

“C-C-Captain, it's not what you think,” said the skinny Pirate.

“ARE YOU CALLING ME A LIAR?!” she roared like an animal in carnage and swung her mace to kill them.

The two Pirates shrieked and dodged Alvida's mace but unfortunately their crew mate got caught by her attack and she sent him flying to God knows where.

The two remaining watched their crew mate fly away when Alvida lifted them up and got ready to pound the living daylight out of them. “W-wait Captain, t-there’s an int-t-truder in the ship,” stuttered the skinny man.

“…an intruder!”

-xXx-

Meanwhile, Luce and Coby are in the storage room so that that Luce could chow down on those tasty apples she found.

Coby tried to convince the girl to leave this place but she refused because she was hungry and wanted to eat.

He thought that she was insane, but was still surprised that this beautiful girl was able to slice the two swords in half like butter. Even though he didn't see her do it he could tell she was strong so he watched her eat and decided to try and talk to her.

“So your name is Luce, right? I'm Coby. That was pretty cool what you did out there.”

Luce continued to eat and shrugged “Oh by the way, is this a pirate ship?” she asked as she put another apple into her mouth.

“No, we're on a passenger ship that's being raided by pirates, under the command of Alvida.” Coby replied, unable to suppress a shudder at the thought of Alvida.

“Are there any small boats here?” Luffy asked and started on a second crate of apples.

“Well probably a few.” Coby answered as he watched the girl continue to devour the apples she could grab.

“Great! Mine got sucked into a whirlpool.”

“The one outside! No way! No one could survive that.”

Luce turned around and laughed, “Yeah I gotta say it was a surprise!” She turned back to her apples and started eating again “So are you a Pirate or Marine?” She asked.

“No! No! I'm not a pirate!” Coby cried shaking his head and waving his hands, “It was an accident that I ended up on Alvida's ship. I went out on a small boat, intending to go fishing and I got caught. The only reason I survived was because I'm a good navigator so they decided to keep me. I've been their Cabin boy for two years.” Coby explained to Luce about his past event as he slouched down next to her.

Luce stared back at him for a moment, “You're pretty stupid.” Luce said blankly, taking another bite of apples in her hands, as Coby hung his head down, “Why don't you just leave?” she said now grinning.

“No way! There is no way I can do that! I can't!” Coby said, a scared look on his face.

Luce laughed “So you're stupid and a coward! I hate people like you!” she grinned and Coby felt his heart being pierced again. He had never felt more humiliated in his entire life and it was in front of a girl no less.

Coby sighed. “Yeah, you're right. I am nothing but a coward… If I had the courage to drift alone in a barrel I would be rid of these pirates. I actually have my own dream I'd like to live out. Say Luce what made you set sail?”

Luce grinned, “Well I'm going to be King of the Pirates!” she said with big grin. To say Coby was shocked would be the understatement of the day. King of the Pirates? That had to be the wackiest thing he had ever heard, this girl was out of her mind.

“P-Pirates K-King then that m-m-mean…you're a…Pirate!”

“That's right!”

“The King of Pirates! The one who obtains everything! You're talking about gaining the treasure of fame, wealth, and power! The treasure you want is the One Piece!” he shouted.

“Yeah, you've got it all right.” she said.

“But, practically all the pirates of the world are looking for that treasure!” yelled Coby.

Luce tilted her head. “Yeah. So?” she asked.

“No way! There's no way you could survive from them! They're ruthless and mean and they'll kill you right here. impossible. Impossi- OW!” Coby winched as Luce bashed him on the head.” Why did you hit me?” asked Coby as he rubbed his throbbing head.

“Cause' I felt like it,” Luce said with happy smile. Coby groaned.

“Ah well, I'm use to stuff like that. My shipmates bash me on the head all the time.” he mumbled.

Luce took a seat on one of the barrel as she smiled wistfully.

Coby felt like he was shot through his heart by an arrow. 'Wow~ she looks really pretty when she smiles. AH, what are you thinking? You barely know her.'

“It's not matter if I can…it's because I want to.” Luce said, looking at the ceiling. “I heard that One Piece is the most valuable treasure in the world. I am thinking, maybe if I can get that treasure…” she started as Coby looked at her with serious eyes. “I can paid my food debt.”

BONG

Coby face-faulted in anime-style, “THAT'S NOT HOW YOU USE ONE PIECE!”

“But I have so many debt to pay.” Luce said with an innocent look.

Coby sighed, “You are saying that, because you have another reason that you don't want another person to know-”

“Yup,” the girl answered happily, shocking Coby.

Coby and Luce eyes stared at each other. Coby was about to ask about it when the sound of something flying came and an iron-mace flew between them.

Luce looked at the source of the iron mace with calm eyes and Coby freaked out, “So you're here Coby!?” Alvida shouted loudly as she caught her iron-mace like a boomerang.

Suddenly from behind Luce, swords came through the door and wall, just missing her face.

She looked at them uninterested as she looked back at the large woman before her. Alvida smirked when she saw her “You are no monster, or threat. You are just an ugly little girl. Coby who is the most beautiful one in all the sea?” s he flipped her hair over her shoulder to try and appear more attractive.

“EH EH EH EH of of course you…”

“Hey Coby, who is this ugly lady?”

“!”

“!” everyone was shocked to hear the little, skinny girl dare to say those dreaded words so boldly to their fearsome Captain and she didn't seem to realize what she had done.

“That kid…”

“I can't believe she said that,” Alvida's crew members were whispering at each other on top of the main deck watching the scene play out below.

BONG

The Iron-mace smashed on the ground as Alvida glare at Luce. “Whhhaaaaat diiiidddd yoooouuu sssaaayyy?”

Coby acted fast and grabbed Luce by the shoulders and shook her. “Don't say that! This woman is the world's most…”

“Coby, is that fat-old-lady your friend?” Luce asked once again, making Coby jaw's dropped.

“YOU LITTLE RAT!” shouted Alvida as she threw down her mace, narrowly missing Luce as she dodged the metal weapon. The onyx-eyed girl grabbed Coby's wrist and she jumped out of the cellar and onto the sky deck. She landed gracefully on her feet and she smirked.

On the deck every Pirate drew their sword and charged at Luce with a roar, but no matter how many times they tried to slice her she moved. She was so fast, almost as if she wasn't there, and when a Pirates tried to sneak up behind her, she would dodge and hit him square on his face with a tight fist.

After less than a minute of fighting she had taken down all of the pirates that had been crowded around the hole. She smiled at her accomplishment and spun in a quick circle before noticing that more pirates were running towards her.

“Better going run now.” She said as she started running from the incoming pirates.

Coby couldn't help but scream, as the girl moved around to avoid the attack of pirates. Coby clung to her huge chest and wasn't until she landed did he open his eyes and realized where his face was. He quickly let go and moved away, his face bright red, until he saw the men glaring at them. “Luce get out of here!”

“And missing this fun!” she said as she charged one guy ducking under his sword as he charged her and then punching him in the face.

She turned around and punched another guy in the face as she continued her graceful onslaught.

Coby watched in amazement as she picked up a guy with one hand and threw him into four of his comrades, as if he was nothing. Coby couldn't believe it as he watched her unbelievably high jumps, and strong attacks.

Another pirate silently came from behind her as he raised his sword upward, but before he can swung it down, Luce already elbowed his face. “How rude. Attacking a girl from behind is cheating.” Luce sighed as she looked at the incoming pirate.

“AAHHH~ why are they ganging up on me?” Luce joked as she smirked and looked at Coby. “Coby closed your ear, ok?” she winked as before the lucky boy could do anything as blue aura started to cloak, Luce’s body.

Everyone stopped and watched as the girl opened her mouth and screams out a blast of sound, “Voice missiles!” she cries as the sound knocked all of them away from the ships and destroying an island hundred kilometers from the ships.

Alvida had climbed out of the hole as the first attack hit and both her and Coby stared at the small girl in front of them, neither quite believing what they had just seen.

Coby stared at the girl with her jaw dropped, "W-What a-are you…."

Luce grinned as she showed sound waves from her hand. "I'm the sound user."

"Sound User?" Coby didn't understand what she meant by that. A shadow loomed over him and he looked up to see Alvida right above him and he quickly hid behind Luce.

"So you ate a Devil Fruit. I thought they were just mere legend, but after seeing you display your powers now I know it's real. Tell me brat, are you a Marine or a Pirate?" Alvida asked.

"I'm a Pirate," Luffy replied easily.

Alvida smirked, the smile full of scorn. "A Pirate? Don't make me laugh. You're just one kid with no crew."

"I'll get a crew, probably ten or more in week."

Alvida laughed at the girl "Ten people! Are you crazy?! Well I'll help you out I'll kill you before you make yourself any more of a fool! You give female pirates a bad name!"

Coby watched as Alvida raised her iron club and quickly tried to push Luce away "Quickly Luce, run! This person is the number one-" He cut himself off from saying she was the number one opponent there.

Luce would probably be excited about that.

He looked at the thin powerful girl and felt his heart beat. He realized then that he actually had a crush on her. He blinked in surprise, forgetting about Alvida. He had a crush on someone, last time he saw a real girl, Alvida didn't count as a real girl, he thought they had cooties.

Alvida started to glare at him. She knew he had forgotten his fear of her, just because of a little crush with the straw-hat girl. "Coby? Number one what?" She asked coldly.

Coby panicked, how could he forget about Alvida at a time like this! She was going to kill Luce! Then he realized it, the way to save Luce "You're the number one fattest, ugliest pirate on all the seas!" He yelled as Luce began to laugh.

Alvida screamed in rage, "You are dead! There is no saving you now!"

Coby screamed in terror and began repeating in his head 'no regrets no regrets no regrets! Luce will be safe now, she can get away-' his thoughts stopped as Alvida began to bring down her club and his face got pushed into something soft. He opened his eyes to once again realize where his face was once again.

 

"Well said Coby!" Luce said as the club was brought down on her head. Coby looked up in horror when he saw the club on top of her head, until he saw her smirk. "Doesn't matter as I already cloaked my body with thin soundwaves." She laughed out as the mace broke into pieces.

"M-My M-m-mace…"

"Now then…" she smiled as her fist turned into fist of demon as she cloaked it in blue soundwave.

"W-w-w-w-what what are you?" Alvida was so shocked that this little scrawny brat had forced her back. HER! The strongest female pirate in the East Blue. She rose shakily to her feet. This had to be some sort of nightmare.

"I'm Portgas D. Luce! Remember my name because I'm the girl who's going to become the Queen of the Pirates!" Then she stepped up to Alvida and delivers a fist into her gut. “Beat Punch!” she punched Alvida on her gut, sending Alvida flying off her ship. Her crew watched in shock and horror as their captain vanished over the horizon.

A strawhat flew toward Luce as she smiled brightly, "My hat and I thought it's already vanished." She said as she put it on her head, then she turned toward the rest of pirates.

"HEY!"

"Y-yes?" the crew flinched in fear when Luce addressed them, pointing over to Coby.

"Get Coby a boat because he's leaving, got it.” Luce said as Coby blinked.

"Huh?"

"Aren't we going to go out from this place?"

"Luce…"

Luce smiled and hugged him really tight pressing his face to her chest "Let's go!" She cried looking around trying to find the boats. When the pirates finally told her where the boats were she realized Coby had stopped moving. "Coby?" She picked him up and shook him lightly, "Coby? Hey Coby what happened?"

Coby's head was spinning from lack of air and excitement, "Wha-"

Luce breathed a sigh of relief, "Well that's good, I thought you were dead. Well let's go!" She cried as she jumped into the falling boat with Coby clinging to her waist. When they landed she noticed another boat and made eye contact with the black haired girl. Luce stared for a bit then turned away, "Alright Coby let's go!"

 

 

 

 

 

 


	2. The Pirate Hunter Zoro

"The weather is so nice," Luce sighed taking a long inhale of the sweet sea air and exhaling as she watched waves gently dance around the boat.

"If we keep this up, we'll be at Shells Town in no time at all," Coby said cheerfully, glancing away from his fishing rod for a second. Fishing had always been one of his favorite activities while sailing on the open sea.

"Wow, that's pretty impressive, Coby! You're really good at navigating."

"It's nothing really, this is one of the basic rules while sailing. You have to know these kinds of things for sailing. Don't you know how to, Luce?" Coby talked as if it wasn't a big deal.

"HAHA! I just let the boat carry me where it wants. I'm no good at navigating." She laughed cheerfully at Coby's shocked expression.

"That's how you got caught by the whirlpool!" He yelled. "You need to learn this stuff!" She bent her knees, placing the soles of her feet against each other and grinned at him.

"Nah, I'll just get an awesome navigator for my crew!" Coby sighed softly, knowing there was no point in arguing with her. He opened his mouth to say something when she leaned forward.

“Hey! That’s an island!” She cheered, making Coby to look at the direction where Luce mentioned.

Coby looked up and saw the land and smiled "I can be a marine! Luce, I can start my dream!" He said as he turned around to see Luce cheering, her breasts jiggling. He looked away and blushed 'what kind of woman is she? She doesn't have on a bra!' he thought as he looked at the island again. "I heard they looked up a Roronoa Zoro, the famous pirate hunter there."

Luce blinked, "Who is that?"

"You don't know who Roronoa Zoro is? He is a demon in human form! He cuts peoples throats with no remorse! He's a monster!" Coby cried.

Luce nodded, "So he is strong. Okay! Maybe he is a nice guy and I can get him to join my crew!" She started to giggle "I'm so excited! My first crew member!" She laughed loudly as the boat got to the shore, "Let's go find Roronoa Zoro!"

Coby shook his head and trailed her through the streets, "Luce, this isn't a good idea. He's a pirate hunter and you are a pirate. He won't want to join you, he will cut your head off to make some money!"

Luce just laughed and continued forward, "Nah, I am sure that I am stronger than him, so it will be fine and beside besides I haven't decided if he is a good person yet or not." She replied like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"HE'S IN PRISON BECAUSE HE'S OBVIOUSLY NOT A GOOD GUY!" Coby sometimes wondered if this girl was just plain crazy or just plain stupid. Luce spotted some tasty pears and quickly grabbed one and took a bite before handing the vendor a berri.

"Hey, could you tell me where I can find Roronoa Zoro?" she politely asked the vendor.

When the villagers around her heard his name they flinched in fear and began to back away from Luce. She sweat dropped at their silly act.

"Maybe it's best if we not mention Zoro here," Coby muttered softly. Luce shrugged and continued to walk through the town towards the marine base.

"C'mon let's keep heading to the Base Coby. You wanted to become a Marine, right?"

"Of course I do, Luce, but I don't know if I'm ready just yet. From what I've heard the man in charge of this Base is named Captain Morgan and he's a very tough marine." Once again the people around the two teens flinched at Captain Morgan's name and backed away as if expecting something to come up and kill them.

Now both Coby and Luce were sweat dropping at the villager's reactions.

-xXx-

"HAHAHA, this place if full of weirdos!" Luce laughed, loving the strange reactions they kept getting if they so much as mentioned Zoro or Morgan's names. She had no clue why they were acting like this but it sure was entertaining.

"I don't get it." Coby wondered, scratching his head. "I understand if they're afraid of Zoro but why did they flip when I mentioned the Marine Captain's name too? I have bad feeling about this."

"Maybe they did it for fun," Luce replied, shrugging.

"And how does that made any sense?"

Before Luce could reply, she stopped walking.

The had arrived at the marine base and now stood in front of a giant steel door with the word Marine printed on it in large white letters. A large white and blue painted wall stretched as far as they could see on either side and Luce let out an impressed whistle. "This look like the place."

Coby could feel the tears welling at the corners of his eyes, he had finally made it. "I'm finally here... This is where we part ways... I know we haven't spent much time together but I…"

"Where are the foot holds on this thing?" he was cut off when he saw Luce on the top of the wall.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! GET DOWN FROM THERE!"

"Now where is that demon?" she said looking around the large open plaza, with her head on the top of her knees.

"I don't think they would keep him out in the open. They probably put him in some underground prison or…"

"Found him!" Luce said happily, ignoring Coby. "I'm going to come closer!" She jumped down from the wall and sprinted further left along it so she could take a closer look at Zoro. Coby was frozen in shock for a few seconds but quickly recovered and followed Luce.

Then she hid behind few barrels as Coby followed her, wanting to see if she was right.

Sure enough, Zoro stood outside of the base in the blazing heat, arms and stomach tied to a wooden cross and head bent.

"That's him, right? Coby?" she asked, nudging the pink haired boy with a carefree smile plastered on her face. Coby couldn't reply, his eyes wide and mouth hanging open, because he was shaking like a leaf and too afraid to make out a word. He was in the presence of a Demon, the man tied to the post for the world to see was the great Pirate Hunter.

"That bandana…and that haramaki. There is no doubt about it…its Roronoa Zoro." He whispered shakily.

"I bet if I untie those ropes he can be free, right?"

"DON'T BE STUPID! YOU'RE GONNA KILL US BOTH IF WE LET THIS GUY ESCAPE!"

"Ah don't worry about a thing. I'm strong, remember? I can protect us," then she turned and grinned at him.

'She's lost her mind!'

"Hey, you two," A gruff voice echoed from the plaza and Coby panicked because Roronoa Zoro was speaking to them.

"You're an eyesore. Get lost," his tone was low and angry with a glare that could make Satan cry.

"AHHHH! Luce trust me, there is no way you can survive with a crew member like him." Before he could say anything else to try and dissuade her a ladder came out of nowhere and smacked against the wall.

A young girl with black eyes and brown hair in pigtails climbed up the ladder made a 'shush' sound at them gesturing for them to keep quiet.

She glanced around the plaza to see if there was anyone there and once she saw it was clear she climbed down using a rope and ran toward Zoro, a bag clasped in one hand.

When Coby saw her running toward Zoro, he panicked.

"AHHH! Luce! We've gotta save her before the Marines spot her or she gets killed by the Demon himself." He cried silently, but Luce ignored him.

She was watching the little girl, wanting to see what she was going to do with Zoro. Once the girl neared him she slowed and gave him a sweet smile. Unlike the others, she didn't appear to be frightened of Zoro.

"What do you want?" he was clearly annoyed that the little girl was stupid enough to barge into the Marine Base.

"I thought you might be hungry now so I made some Rice Balls."

"Do you have a death wish kid? Scram!"

"But, you haven't eaten anything in a long time so I decided to make you some lunch. Here." She held up two Rice Balls wrapped in wax paper, showing them off. "It's my first time, but I think they turned out ok." Zoro was stunned at the girl's generous offer. He looked at the round Rice Balls that she held up, he really was hungry, but quickly pushed the thought of food aside and said.

"Listen kid, I'm not hungry so stop irritating me and beat it."

"But…"

"I SAID BEAT IT, KID!" he raised his tone in an attempt to scare her off but that didn't work either. He turned as he heard the door to the base slide open and a weird looking guy walked out, flanked by his two Marine guards. The weird boy was a skinny and lanky-looking young man with light blond hair shaped like an oval on top of his head. He wore a snappy violet colored uniform with white shoes and a rubber band ring on his left hand.

"Now, now, no one likes a bully you know." He walked towards the two with a smug look on his face the two bodyguards trailing behind. Luce watched as Zoro's expression darkened when he saw the newcomer.

"Roronoa Zoro, you seem to be handling this ordeal well, don't you agree?"

"Who this weird looking guy?" Luce asked, her brow furrowing with annoyance.

"Ah thank goodness, he's a Marine, maybe everything will be alright now."

"Oh! Looky here, some tasty Rice Balls." The blonde boy stepped up to the young girl and snatched the Rice Ball out of her hand before taking a large bite out of one.

"HEY! They're not for you!" As she said that the weird boy's face turned green and he spit the chewed up Rice Ball onto the ground and grimaced in disgust.

"They're packed with sugar?! You're supposed to use salt, you idiot!"

"But I…I thought it would taste better with sugar," she sniffed. Then the boy snatched the last Rice Ball from her hand and threw it on the ground before smashing it with his foot.

"No stop, stop it!" the poor girl cried out, tears dripping down her cheeks as she watched her hard made Rice Balls be ruined. Coby and Luce watched the scene before them, shock evident on their faces.

"That's…that's just horrible." Coby shook his head sadly. He couldn't believe that this man was so heartless toward a little girl.

"But... I... Worked... So... Hard... For... It..."

"Well too bad! I guess you didn't read the notice posted over there. Those who assist criminals in any way will be executed! Signed by Marine Captain Morgan." The boy pointed over at the small sign that stood near the entrance to the plaza and the poor girl began to shake harder.

"HEHEHE it seem even little brats fear my Daddy."

"His daddy?" Luce said with her eyes slightly rose from confusion.

"So…that guy's father is Captain Morgan." Coby concluded. Now Coby was even more worried for the girl's safety since this cruel boy was practically the second in command after his father. Then the boy turned his head to one of the Marine guards and said.

"You! Toss this kid over the wall right now." the Marine flinched at his order.

"But s-sir, she's just a child." The boy's eyes narrowed and he reached out and grabbed the Marine's shirt in a vice grip and looked him straight in the eyes.

"I said, throw her over the wall, soldier. If you don't obey my orders, I'll tell my Father." The marine flinched again knowing that if he disobeyed the Marine Captain's son he'd be killed for sure.

"Y-yes sir. I'll do it" The boy let go of the Marine with a small nod of satisfaction. The marine felt a heavy guilt settle in his stomach when he saw the girl's frightened face, but what choice did he have?

"I'm really sorry, just curl into a ball, okay?" he whispered to her so that boy wouldn't hear him. The little girl did what he said and just like that he threw her over the wall. But Luce was ready for the toss, she jumped after the girl and caught it with ease.

"Thank you, miss." The little girl whispered, hands gripping at Luce's white shirt.

"Luce! Are you two okay? I can't believe that wretched man would do something so horrible. Are you two hurt?" Luce let Coby inspect the girl resting in her lap for any signs of injury while she looked at the wall of the base.

-xXx-

On the other side of the wall, the blonde boy laughed after the girl was thrown like it was a joke to him. Zoro cursed him silently, damning that cowardly boy to hell for his heinous act towards a little girl. Then the boy turned his head to face Zoro.

"HEHEHE still stubborn to stay alive."

"That right, I'll make it through the month without any problem," Zoro said confidently, a dark grin appearing on his face.

"Yeah, good luck with that," The boy turned to leave but before that he kicked at Zoro's right abdomen hard, causing the pirate hunter to clench his teeth. Zoro wouldn't let him see the pain that kick had caused him to satisfy his sick desire for control. After a second the boy snorted and left, his marines following behind him.

"Just you wait. I'll survive the next ten days and win that bet," Zoro grunted, but he made sure to hide his pain. He couldn't help but feel the soreness of the wound on his stomach that the boy had aggravated.

-xXx-

Back with the others, Coby made another check up on the girl to double check that she wasn't hurt and sighed in relief when he noticed that she didn't seem to be in any pain. "Thank goodness you're not hurt. How could that man be so heartless? Hey Luce, what should we…" But when he turned around Luce was nowhere in sight.

"What the…where did she go?"

-xXx-

Back with Zoro, he was glad the pain has subsided but the throbbing muscles in his side had swollen and would cause even more pain after he was freed from this bind if it was not treated soon.

He opened his eyes with a sigh to see the shadow of a person on the ground in front of him and when he looked up he saw a girl, a pretty girl at that.

"So I heard that you are a criminal here?" she asked the first question that came to her mind and when Zoro recognized the voice he scowled in annoyance.

"You're still here." Zoro sighed.

Luce grinned, "You're stuck there for all the world to see, are you really that strong?"

"Shut up!" he hissed. She sighed and stepped a little closer to Zoro holding her hat in her hands.

"If I were you I'll have starved to death in three days," she declared, grinning happily.

"I've got more spirit than you could ever have, which is why I'll survive this ordeal…this I swear!" He promised, mouth curved in a smirk that said he was determined to win and confident enough to do it.

Luce seemed impressed by his resolve and giggled at him slightly which made Zoro blushed. "What you did to that girl is very kind, you know." Luce said as she started to leave.

"Hold on…could you…pick that up for me?" He eyed the muddy Rice Ball with a hungry look and she cocked her head to the side and picked up the muddy grains off the ground.

"You're gonna eat this? But it's ruined and…"

"SHUT UP AND GIVE IT TO ME, KID!" He yelled back in irritation. She stared at him in surprise but shrugged it off and brought the muddy Rice close to his mouth.

Zoro was surprised that she would come so close to him when she could've thrown it to his mouth.

Didn't she know who he was? He shook his head, he was far too hungry to be thinking about that right now, and took bite of the grain on her palm, getting the entire thing in his mouth in one swoop and gulping it down before spitting out some of the mud from his mouth.

"I told you so~" she said.

"It was good, tell the girl I said thanks." His tone was soft and there was a hint of kindness in his voice.

Luce smiled at that. He was really not a bad person at all.

-xXx-

"Really! He ate it all?!" The little girl exclaimed, clapping her hands with glee. Coby and Luce had walked her back to town at the girl's, whose name was Rika, insistence. She was smiling happily, overjoyed to hear that her new friend Zoro had eaten her home-made rice balls.

Luce nodded, sporting her own grin. "Yep, he ate every last grain there was."

"Oh that wonderful!"

"I wonder if Zoro is really as evil as everyone thinks that he is." Coby wondered aloud, thinking it silly that the pirate hunter's whole reputation might just be built off the rumors of scared people.

"NO, he is not!" Rika shouted, turning to face Coby. "…he's a really good person because…he got punished for helping us." Her happy expression faded into a sad look.

"Could you please tell us what exactly happened here." Luce asked Rika as softly as she could in an effort to calm the upset girl. Rika took a deep breath and told both Coby and Luce what had happened two weeks ago.

"It's that stupid Helmeppo's fault! He is the son of Captain Morgan."

-xXx-

" _Step aside, step aside. Make way for my beautiful pet doggy," Helmeppo crowed while walking with his sword on his shoulder and his beloved pet down the town's main market street, two Marine guards following a short distance behind him._

_But his pet was not really a doggy but in fact a fully grown orange wolf with beady yellow eyes and sharp fangs. The people in the market quickly scatter around like frightened mice as the wolf strolls on the street freely._

" _And if anyone doesn't move, I'll have my Father execute you all! HAHAHA!" Helmeppo threatened the people constantly and always got away with everything he did._

_The wolf pushed its nose into a swinging door that led to the restaurant that Rika's Mother owned and operated._

_The customers inside let out shrill screams as the wolf leaned over their plates and grabbed at whatever he wanted. Angry, Rika grabbed the broom she had been cleaning with and smacked the wolf over the head, trying to make him leave._

" _Stop it, you mean old thing."_

" _You, little girl, is there some kind of problem with the way my beloved doggy is behaving?" Helmeppo smirked at the girl daring to try and scare his doggy._

" _Rika! Get away from that thing!" Rika's Mother cried out, worried for her daughter's well being but it was too late because the hungry wolf had taken notice of Rika and jumped at her as if to eat her._

_The little girl screamed in fear, thinking that she was going to die, but before the wolf could reach her, it was hit by a wooden chair hard on the head which killed it instantly. Helmeppo screeched like a little girl when he saw his pet lying dead and Helmeppo and everyone in the restaurant turned to stare at the man that dared kill Helmeppo's pet wolf._

" _Who the hell are you?…wait, you're… you're that Pirate Hunter, Zoro." He knew he recognized that bandana and the three katanas, he was the man known throughout the East Blue sea, the great Roronoa Zoro._

" _And if I am?" Helmeppo held his sword tightly in his hand trying to look heroic and fierce but failing miserably when his legs shook in fear._

" _What's a Pirate Hunter like you doing here in the first place?!"_

" _Can it and let me finish my meal in peace," Zoro said as he took a big bite of his piece of meat._

_Helmeppo charged at Zoro trying to kill him but Zoro was too quick, he dodged his attack then kicked the idiot's sword through the roof and punched Helmeppo in the face. He drew his own sword and pointed on Helmeppo's face, causing the wimpy man to make a screech that you could have mistaken as a girl crying for help._

" _You're getting on my nerves, pal." Zoro said menacingly._

_Helmeppo felt the cold, hard steel near his face that looked sharp enough to cut a rock, and quickly thought of an idea._

" _Hahaha, you do realize that if my Dad finds out about this he will surely execute the girl and her Mother." Helmeppo smirked when he saw the look on Zoro's face, he had guessed right and now he had the pirate hunter right where he wanted him._

" _So, what you do say to make a deal between men." He got up from the ground and stared at Zoro face to face._

" _In place of the kid and her Mom, we string you up instead for…let's say one month. If you survive for one month I will be so kind as to let you and the women live. So what you say, hm?" They stare at each other in silence for what seems like half a minute before Zoro sighs and lays down his sword on the table._

" _Then one month it is."_

-xXx-

"It's been almost three weeks since that day. Helmeppo keeps beating him and punching him while he's tied up, he's being so unfair and I... I don't know how to help him!?" Rika explained while sobbing. Then all of a sudden Luce, Coby, and Rika heard a sudden crash coming from a building near them.

They all ran straight to where the sound was coming from and find out it's coming from Rika's restaurant. Luce shoved the doors open to see Helmeppo destroying the tables and the plates. Then he got tired of storming around the building and sat himself down on one of the chairs, placing his white shoes on top of plates full of fruits.

"Hm, I'm hungry. Bring me whatever you got and keep the check for yourselves! HAHA, and bring me a bottle of one of your best Moon Shines or whatever crap you serve here." Rika's Mother nodded silently and did what she was told while the customers could do nothing but watch helplessly from behind, among them a familiar orangette hair girl in the back holding a drink. Rika's Mother poured the drink for Helmeppo and quickly handed it over to him.

"You know, I'm bored out of my mind. I'm trying to think up something to do, but maybe if I execute Zoro tomorrow. That would be fun, right? HAHAHAHA!" Helmeppo laughed excitingly that he didn't see Luce in front of him.

"Don't do that!" She flicked his head as Helmeppo flew toward the nearest building.

BANG

And crashed into the building. As he slid to the ground he began to wail, the sound almost like a 4 year old girl who had skinned her knee and everyone gaped at the teenage girl's actions.

"You… you just hit me and you ruined my clothes," Helmeppo yelled at her while his holding his nose, tears dripping down his cheeks.

"I can't allow you to kill Zoro." Luce said simply.

"Huh?"

"Because he is my crewmates now." Luce said, while grinning.

 

 

 


	3. Pirate Luce and Pirate Zoro

"Luce stop! What do you think you're saying!?" Coby asked while yelling as he pulled Luce's white shirt.

"You bitch! You just hit me and made me wet. I'm Captain Morgan's son you know?" Helmeppo yelled.

"I don't care who you are." Luce state blankly.

"YOU'LL CARE WHEN MY FATHER EXECUTES YOU FOR THIS!" He screamed back with teary eyes.

Luce tilted her head to side, "I still don't care," she said with confused face, making Helmeppo shocked to see that the girl was really not afraid. Hell, she even didn't care about his dad reputation at all.

"JUST LOOK I WILL BRING MY FATHER HERE AND EXECUTE YOU!" Helmeppo shouted while running toward the marine base with the marines followed him.

Luce who looked at Helmeppo sighed, "What a weirdo..."

"LUCE!" Coby yelled beside her ear.

"No need to yell at my ear, Coby. I'm very sensitive to sound you know." Luce said with slightly angry face.

"WHY DID YOU DO THAT! ARE YOU TRYING TO FIGHT AGAINST A FULL ARMY OF MARINES." Coby asked while yelling in front of him.

Luce looked at Coby, he was looking at her with worried eyes. "Don't look at me with that eyes." She said, scratching the back of her hair. "I don't want to wage a war with marines here, don't worry."

"Then why..."

"Why?" Luce thought about it for a moment, before she grinned toward Coby. "Because I just want to do it, maybe."

-xXx-

Inside the walls of the marine base, a man sat on his comfortable chair in his office, inhaling his favorite cigar and admiring the view of his city.

The man's aura held power and authority but in spite of that he was greedy, frightful, and unjust. His name was Marine Captain Morgan, the very one that citizens and marines feared. Even his appearance was frightening, he was a very tall, intimidating man with white-blond hair and a jaw made of actual steel.

"I feel great," Morgan said to the marine who stood by the door. The marine quickly saluted his Captain.

"Yes sir, right you are, sir."

"And yet the taxes we collected don't even compare to my sheer degree of greatness." His voice was cocky as he glared at the box of berris in front of him.

"Yes, it is true sir. I guess the citizen's wallet aren't very deep these days, sir," said the saluted Marine trembling in terror, fearing that the captain would get angry at him because the taxes were lower than the day before. When Morgan noticed that he'd most likely go the person's house with the lowest toll and they will be accused for treason against the marines and be executed on the spot to show an example to the townsfolk.

"The issue at hand is the level of respect for me. Wouldn't you agrees, soldier?" It wasn't a question answer, more of a command, agree or die. Before the soldier could answer him, the office door burst open and a weepy and fuming Helmeppo ran in.

"Daddy, there is someone I want you to slaughter and I want it NOW!"

-xXx-

_Two children are competing against each other using only Kendo sticks._

_One is a girl with short dark blue hair and dark brown eyes using the traditional one sword other is a young version of Zoro using two Kendo sticks._

_The girl struck Zoro with a powerful slash sending both of his kendo sticks flying and knocking Zoro to the ground ending the duel between two."You're weak, Zoro. Nothing ever changes," said the girl smirking in victory._

-xXx-

Zoro gasped himself awake and took a deep breath because it had only been a dream, a remnant of his past. He glanced around the empty plaza, relieved to see that no one was around there to give him his afternoon beating.

Then he began to sulk because of the over-bearing heat burning down on him, with no sign of ending and the lack of food was not helping his already failing body.

'I can't die here…I made a promise to her! I can't afford to die in place like this,' he grunted in irritation, when he spotted a shadow on the ground he glanced up to see the same black hair girl from earlier.

"Ugh, you again? Don't you have better things to do than hang around here," Zoro asked annoyed

"I'll help you escape if you promise to join my Crew," Luce said crossing her arms under her delicious looking chest.

"Your WHAT?!"

"I'm running a Pirate Crew and I'm looking for people to join up." As Luce said that Zoro let out a snort.

That had to be the most ridiculous thing he had ever heard.

"No way. I'd never stoop so low as to join a Pirate Crew. Especially if it's run by a female captain like you. Screw that." Zoro said while looking away, but take a peek at the girl as he felt a sudden rush of guilt that he couldn't quite place.

Luce at the other hand frowned at that and put her hands on her hip. "And what's wrong with being a Pirate, huh?"

"They're all low life criminals and why in the seven hells would I want to join your Crew?!"

"Uh c'mon!" She whined. "Everyone already thinks that you're some vicious criminal who is only out for blood."

"People can say whatever they want about me but…I've never done a single thing in my life that I regret." Zoro said while smirking. "I'll make through this challenge and then I'll accomplish what I want."

"Yeah, that great but…I've already decided that you are going to join my crew~" she singsonged, the bright smile returning to her face.

"WHAT? YOU CAN'T DO THAT!"

"I also heard you're one of the best Swordsmen in the East Blue."

"Well…I am, but that idiot Captain's son took my swords away." He muttered this last part under his breath. He hated when he showed weakness, especially in front of this girl.

"I guess I'll just have to get it back for you."

"What?!" He was stunned that this girl would do that for him but then Luce's eyes twinkled with mischief and she continued.

"But if you want your sword back, you'll just have to join my Crew." She grinned.

"NOW YOU'RE REALLY STARTING TO PISS ME OFF!" He never would've guessed that this young girl could be so… So wicked. Luce only giggled at Zoro reaction as she walked toward the marine base.

"Is she really serious..." Zoro muttered in disbelief.

-xXx-

Meanwhile, at the top of the marine base, Captain Morgan had ordered his men to lift a gigantic statue of himself onto the roof of the central tower as a final touch to demonstrate his power.

"Well, Dad? Aren't you going to do something about this? That bitch just hit me in public. You've never hit me before, why should she be able to?" Helmeppo stood near his father, whining and demanding like a spoiled child who hadn't gotten his way.

"Do you have any remote idea why I never hit you?…well?!" Morgan asked his son, the words almost a hiss as he glanced to the side to glare at the blonde boy.

"Uuhhh…is it because you love me, Dad?" Helmeppo replied in a whisper.

"…No. It's because," Without waning Morgan slammed his fist into Helmeppo's face, sending his son flying into the wall. Helmeppo groaned as he sank to the ground, this hit was much worse than how the girl had flicked him earlier.

"Because you're a stupid fool who is not worth hitting," He brought out his right arm from behind his back, showing that in place of his arm, was a large axe, the handle of which seemed to go straight through to his elbow. Then he used the tip of his axe to lift Helmeppo off of the ground.

"I don't want you to get the wrong idea. The only great one around here is the man you call your Father." He said menacingly as Helmeppo broke into tears and tossed into ground harshly. "Which reminds me…I heard a rat snuck into the crucifixion yard?"

"Uh yes, that right. The little girl, but I already dealt with her." Helmeppo commented, waving his hand dismissively.

"Have you executed her?" All of the marines on the roof, and even Helmeppo were shocked to hear this cold-hearted statement from their leader.

"Wha… what, no?! I didn't kill her, she's just a kid," Helmeppo said frighteningly. Helmeppo may be a rotten, stupid, spoiled kid but he wasn't a murderer.

Morgan gave his son a disappointed look before he turned to his lieutenant and said."You! Go find this girl and kill her."

"Sir, you can't be serious! She's just a little girl, sir."

"I don't care if she's a child or not, when I give you an order soldier, I expect you to follow it. Now go to town, find her, and kill her."

"No sir, I won't do it," the Lieutenant mustered his courage and stood tall, staring down Morgan to show that he wouldn't do such a terrible thing.

Morgan glared darkly at the man who dared to defy him and without warning struck down the lieutenant using his ax hand leaving him to fall to the ground dead.

Helmeppo was petrified to see that his Father had just killed one of his own men. "YOU… YOU KILLED HIM!"

"My strength is what I used to rise to the rank of Captain. Listen carefully, in this world what matters the most is strength. Which means being the Captain of this Base and the highest ranking officer, I'm the most superior person as far as I can see. I do everything right, am I correct men?" Morgan asked while looking at his man threateningly.

"SIR, YES SIR!" all the Marines saluted their Captain with a new found fear for the larger man.

"Let's put killing of this girl on hold…for now and behold the greatest symbol of my unending authority." Morgan stared at the rising statue with satisfaction. Once it was in place it would grant him more power and respect throughout the town and then the world.

"It took years to complete it and now here it is. Now men! STAND IT UP, DISPLAY MY GREATNESS FOR ALL TO SEE!" Once that was said his men proceed to heave the heavy statue of Captain Morgan with slow and even pulls.

-xXx-

Meanwhile, Luce had been running around everywhere, searching for that stupid kid Helmeppo for quite some time now and there was still no sign of him anywhere. Not to mention, she hadn't seen a single marine the entire time.

"Huh, I wonder where everyone went off to?" She stopped and tilted her head, confused at the lack of people and was able to hear a faint sound coming from the top of the large central tower. "Maybe there?" She glanced up to the top and opened her mouth slightly as her feet cloaked in blue aura as she jumped toward the top of the tower.

As the men heaved the statue up the side of the base one of the men was unfortunate enough to slip and accidentally scratch the statue's hand on a light post.

As the men heaved the statue up the side of the base one of the men was unfortunate enough to slip and accidentally scratch the statue's hand on a light post.

The Marine tried to apologize profusely to Captain Morgan countless times but the Captain wasn't hearing any of that. He raised his axe-hand, ready to strike down the marine for committing treason but stopped when he saw a large object suddenly fly up past the tower.

It looked almost like a large bird but upon inspection he saw that it was actually a... GIRL?!

"What is that?!" one of the Marine yelled in surprise as Luce shot past them.

"Ahh! Too high! Too high!" She screamed as she raised her hand upward and used the soundwave to propel her and grabbed onto one of the ropes holding up the statue.

She used the rope to pull herself to safety, landing easily on the roof but upsetting the balance of the marines trying to lift the statue.

They tried to correct the sudden change in weight and balance but it was already too late. The force of the statue caused it to hit the edge of the roof and crack in half, sending the top part down into the back training yard, hitting the ground and shattering into a million pieces.

Everyone gawked at the young girl casually dusting herself off, gazes shifting between her, the bottom half of the statue, and Captain Morgan. They were shocked to see that the Captain's custom statue had been completely ruined by one scrawny little girl. Luce laughed nervously as she noticed the mess she has made.

"Hehehe, sorry…about that." She scratched the back of her head embarrassed as she tried to apologize but Morgan was too angry to hear her measly excuses.

"SEIZE HER AND HOLD HER DOWN SO I CAN KILL HER MYSELF!" Morgan shouted angrily.

"SIR, YES SIR!" The marine pulled their guns.

"THAT'S HER DADDY! SHE'S THE BITCH WHO HIT ME!" Helmeppo yelled, pointing toward Luce.

"Hey, there you are! I've been looking everywhere for you." Luce pouted as she grabbed Helmeppo in a chokehold and dragged him off into the Marine Base.

"DO NOT LET THAT GIRL ESCAPE!" Morgan yelled at his men as they began to chase after the small girl. One of his men yelled that he had spotted someone in the crucifixion yard. He looked down to see a little boy running toward the strung-up Pirate Hunter.

"I'm surrounded by traitors..."

-xXx-

Luce had been dragging Helmeppo through the halls of the large facility, trying to get the location of Zoro's sword out of him and she was starting to get impatient.

"Okay, so tell me where Zoro's sword is right now!" Luce asked with slightly annoyed in her voice.

"ALRIGHT! ALRIGHT, I'LL TELL YOU 'AH' STOP DRAGGING ME ACROSS THE CARPET!" Cried Helmeppo loudly as Luce pulled to a stop.

"Fine, which way?" she asked. Helmeppo pointed in the opposite direction.

"In my room. We just passed it, behind you on the left." he whimpered. Luce sighed.

"What?! Why didn't you say so in the first place?" She sighed in annoyance. "Now we have to go all the way back." She turned back to notice three marines blocking her path.

"STOP! don't move and let Helmeppo go." The leader of the three shouted as they all pointed their guns at her.

"No way but…you can try shoot me if you want," she said as she put Helmeppo in front of her as a shield.

"AAAHHHHHHHH! DON'T SHOOT! DON'T SHOOT!" Helmeppo screamed like a girl as Luce took the opportunity to run passed the Marines and into Helmeppo's room.

-xXx-

At the crucifixion platform, Coby was trying to help Luce out by unbinding the ropes holding Zoro to the post so he could escape out of town. That would hopefully get Luce out of the line of fire, at least.

"You have to get out of here, Zoro, and fast," Coby said, fingers dancing over the small knots.

"That manic is going to kill you for what you're doing right now." he snarled. Coby shook his head.

"No, I can't just leave you here. I can't stand the way the marines are behaving anymore, a true marine should be honorable!" He said angrily. Coby was really upset to see the way the marines had been acting. Fraidy-cats that couldn't do anything to stop the tyrant that was Captain Morgan. They were supposed to be brave.

"Look kid, I can't leave. I got ten days left and then I…"

"Well not quite." Coby interrupted. "They're going to execute you tomorrow."

"…What?!"

"Helmeppo never intended to honor your agreement, he planned on killing you from the start. And Luce-san is trying to take your swords to save you." Coby explained.

"She…did that…for me?" he asked, shocked that someone actually fought for him.

"Now the Marines are mad and are dead serious on catching her. I'm not asking you to become a pirate or anything like that but I hope you'll help her because you have a lot of strength you can offer."Coby said as Zoro became silent.

Zoro didn't know what to say, his mind was on overdrive. If Helmeppo killed him it would break his promise and that annoying girl, Luce, was risking her life to help him, a stranger she barely knew. Then he heard Coby continue with his rant.

"Luce is the only one who can save you from your execution…and of course you're the only one who can save her from a very similar fate." As soon as the last words left Coby's mouth Zoro knew what he had to do.

"End of the line!" called a voice. Coby froze and he turned and saw the axe handed man with ten Marine men.

"For the crime of treason against me, I sentence you both to die where you stand!" said the large man as his men locked their rifles. Both Coby and Zoro froze.

-xXx-

Luce entered a room and looked around. "Yep, this looks like your place." she said as she looked around the pink and frilly room.

Her eyes spotted three Katanas. Two had black blade guards while the third had a white blade guard.

"Wait, there's three of them. Hey, weirdo, which one is Zoro's?" Luce asked.

Helmeppo was out like a light. "Huh, must've fell asleep." assumed Luce. She then looked out the window and she spotted Coby and Zoro being aimed at with rifles by the men of the Marines.

Luce quickly prepared herself to jump into the execution ground when she heard Morgan speak.

"I've seen you pull some interesting moves around here. Is this some kind of poor attempt at overthrowing me. Did you plan this with that straw-hat girl?" Morgan growled.

"Tsk, I always fight alone like a real man. Not like a coward who hides himself behind walls of expendable cronies."

"HAHA!" Morgan let out a loud laugh at that. "Roronoa Zoro, don't you dare underestimate me. You may be a strong Swordsman but under my rule you're nothing but a rat that need to be exterminated. TAKE AIM, MEN!" Morgan's men took their positions waiting for their Captain's order to fire and Zoro could do nothing but stand there and face down death.

PRANG

Luce jumped out of window with blue soundwaves circling around her towards the plaza where friends were in trouble.

"FIRE!"

Luce landed on the ground between Zoro and the marines with a thud. The guns had already been fired and were now aiming right at Luce.

"LUCE! NOOOOO!" Coby screamed.

"LUCE!" then Zoro yelled too.

"STRAW HAT!"

Luce now stood in front of Coby and Zoro, "Don't worry, guys." she said as the bullet stopped right in front of her. "That won't work for me!" yelled Luce as the bullets flew back narrowly missed the axe man's head. "Told you I was the strongest there is." laughed Luce while everyone else stared at her in disbelief.

In all their years of hardship and experiences, the marines had never seen such a power display from one so small right in front of their eyes.

Morgan was the only one who didn't seem to be fazed, but Zoro wasn't doing much better than the marines, his eyes wide and face showing a mixture of shock, disbelief, amazement, and slight anger for the fact that she scared him half to death. He didn't know why he cared so much.

They had only known each other for a few hours and he had already thought that he was going to lose her. But this crazy, aggravating girl had some sort of insane ability that can protect her from anything and she hadn't told him!

"JUST WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?! WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME YOU COULD DO THAT?!" Zoro shouted at her. Luce turned her head to Zoro and softened her manic smile.

"I'm Portgas D. Luce and I'm gonna be Queen of the Pirates!"

"You're gonna be the Pirate Kings? Yeah right, you're even more crazy than I thought; do you have any idea what that means?" Zoro asked.

He was even more worried now. Was this girl ok, or was she totally insane?

"Pirate Kings means Pirate Kings. how can it mean anything other than that?" she answered him, head tilted to the side as if the answer was as simple as that. Then Coby chuckled softly and elaborated.

"Yeah, when she first told me that, it was shocking but she's completely serious. That's how she is, of course, she has every intention of becoming Queen of the Pirates and obtaining the greatest treasures of them all, the One Piece." Coby explained as Zoro raised his eyebrow.

Zoro stared back at the small girl in shock, he respected her a little more now after learning that she was willing to die to achieve her dream. Luce's grin widened again as Coby talked about the One Piece and even though he could respect her, Zoro still wondered if she had gotten hit on the head too many time as an infant.

He was brought back to the present when Luce stepped in front of him and held out the three swords she had brought. "Here you go, just like I promised. There's three of them but I couldn't tell which one was yours so I brought all of them."

"All of them belong to me." Zoro explained, sighing. "I use Santoryuu, the Three Sword Style Technique."

"Ok, take them already, but just so you know if you fight with me now, the government will consider you a villain. So it's either that or get killed by the marines, execution style." Luce stared at him seriously, and Zoro snorted.

"What are you, the Devil's daughter? It doesn't matter because if I don't choose your side I'll be dead on these sticks, so let's do it." He said as he smirked darkly, a face that could make anyone cry like a tiny school girl but seemed to have no effect on Luce. She just whooped and did a small jump of joy.

"YAHOOO~ My first mate! This is going to be so awesome, thank you so~ much~!" She said happily as she gave Zoro a big hug, eyes sparkling. Zoro was petrified for a second from the sudden cuddle and the warmth of his new captain pressed against him made him feel almost light inside. He quickly snapped out of it and glared down at her angrily.

"WILL YOU STOP HUGGING ME AND START CUTTING THESE ROPES ALREADY!" She removed herself from Zoro, giggling, and moved to do what he said. The marines just continued to stare at the trio, baffled and frightened by the girl's powers.

"What the…what is she?" one shocked Marine asked, not expecting an answer, barely even believing his eyes. "The bullets just reflected right in front of us."

Morgan stepped forward, supporting his large ax-hand. "The Straw Hat is no ordinary girl; she must've eaten one of those devil fruits that we've heard so much about." The marines began to whisper back and forth to each other.

"The Devil Fruit?"

"The hidden treasure of the sea!"

Morgan quickly silenced them. "The Devil Fruits, they say who ever eats one of those can gain extraordinary, other-worldly abilities. The power to breath fire, the power to cause tsunamis, rumors persist that they are many types of these Fruits but next to nothing is known about them. It is said that the secret lies somewhere in the Grand Line, and there's no doubt about it that the Straw Hat girl has shown her Devil power." While Morgan described the fruits to his men, Luce was busy trying to untie the ropes holding Zoro to the post, and in the end only making them tighter. Both Zoro and Coby began to get more anxious and hissed at her to hurry it up.

"It doesn't matter what abilities she has, all who oppose me are traitors. If guns won't work then CHOP THEM!" Morgan shouted this order to his marines and all of the soldiers quickly drew their swords before charging at the trio. Coby began to panic even more and even Zoro was starting to get a little worried. He glanced down Luce but the young captain didn't even seem to notice the approaching marines.

"This is actually a lot harder than it looks," she scratched her head in confusion.

"GIVE ME MY DAMNED SWORDS NOW!"

"LUCE!" Luce turned to see the marines bearing down on them and reacted. Coby watched their approach with terror before closing his eyes, not wanting to see the gruesome sight.

PRANG

He heard a loud clanging of metal and cracked one eye curiously before gaping at the sight in front of him.

Zoro was free and had stopped the coming marines with his three swords, one in each hand and the last, with the white handle, rested between his teeth. With his incredible strength, he had succeed in blocking every one of the marine's swords.

Captain Morgan stared at Zoro shocked, brows furrowing and teeth grinding together in anger.

Luce had been pushed back as Zoro moved, feet tangling underneath her and sending her back onto her ass. She stared up at her first mate, amazed at his speed and power, her ever present wide smile showing him how impressed she was. Some of the marines gasped and tried to move but before they could take a single step Zoro slid his eyes to the side and said to them in his most intimidating manner.

"Make one move and you die!" Zoro said threateningly as the marines had to fight the urge to drop their swords and run.

"He's so scary," one of them whispered, voice cracking with fear.

"Today I officially become a criminal for having fought the marines. So I'll become a Pirate, that I promise you…BUT, I want to let you know one thing. While I'm with you, the only thing I dedicate myself to is to fulfill my ambition." Zoro's voice was muffled by the sword in his mouth but Luce understood him and saw in his eyes that this was important.

"Which is?" She asked, looking at the swordman with smile in her face.

"To be nothing less than the World's Greatest Swordsman. If something should have happen along the way that stops me from reaching my dream then you take full responsibility for it. I will ki-" He stumbled, almost hesitating, before continuing. "Afterward, you have to apologize to me directly." His tone showed that he was completely serious and his expression mirrored his tone.

"The World's Greatest Swordsman sounds good to me." Luce nodded before continuing. "The Queen of the Pirates wouldn't have anything less than the best on her crew." Then she smiled in glee and Zoro knew that he had chosen to follow the right person.

"You've got guts for a little girl. From this point on, no matter if I'm criminal or not, my name shall spread throughout the world and to the heavens above," Zoro exclaimed.

Captain Morgan had had enough of their exchange and the lack of motion in his troops and he began to shout again.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING STANDING THERE FROZEN?! KILL THEM ALREADY! RIGHT NOW!" The marines flinched at their Captain's voice. They had completely forgotten what they were supposed to do, but Luce was already two steps ahead of them.

"You might wanna move aside, Zoro," She warned as blue soundwaves circling around her hand. She pointed it toward the incoming marines. Zoro's eyes widened in understanding and he quickly pushed back the marine's swords before jumped aside.

"CRASH DOWN!" She shouted as she used the pressure from the sound to press the incoming marines into the wall 10 feet away. Captain Morgan gawked in surprise to see his men defeated by a girl with just with one hit.

"Wow, that's amazing! You knocked them all down," Coby cheered as Luce grinned.

"What are you, Luce?"

"Me? I'm the sound user." She laughed, showing blue soundwaves in her hand. The marines she had hit were collapsed on the ground, groaning, and watched as the frightening girl relaxed out of a fighting stance and turned to the two others she was with. Some began to speak up, knowing there was no way they could beat them.

"Captain, we don't stand a chance against them."

"He's right, just look at them! They're insane."

"We couldn't even take on Zoro by himself."

Morgan gritted his teeth in fury and a vein began to pulse on his forehead. "This is a direct order, every Marine that just showed weakness and spoke, pull out your guns and shoot yourself. You're nothing but cowardly and incompetent soldiers who can't even carry out one simple order."

Luce narrowed her eyes slightly as she heard the order, watching some of the marines lift their guns to their heads. They had been insulted and humiliated by their commanding officer one too many times in her opinion.

"Hey Zoro? let's end this," she said.

"You got it."

They both charged past the kneeling marines, ready to pound Morgan to submission. The captain saw their approach and raised his ax-hand to his chest, blocking Luce's feet and Zoro's swords.

"Rank-less, low-life bums! You have no rights to defy my superiority. I'm Marine Captain Ax-hand Morgan," Morgan shouted as he removed his coat and threw it.

"Tsk, as if I care who you are." Zoro rolled his eyes in annoyance.

"And my name is Luce," she said at the same time as she dodged the incoming axe. "Zoro? I've got this guy." She said, waving playfully.

"Go to hell!" Morgan shouted, sweeping his ax in front of him and just missing Luce as she jumped upward. The swing cut the fence to Morgan's right in half, forcing Zoro to take a few steps back. In midair, Luce straightened out of her jump and planted both feet on Morgan's face, sending the captain back onto the ground with a thud.

"The captain...!" The marines stared in shock as Morgan rose back to his feet and glared down at Luce angrily.

"Go to HELL!" This time Morgan swept his ax in a downward motion. Luce stepped to the side, barely missing the sharp blade, twisting her hip as she did and kicking out with her right leg. Her leg stretched into a shorter version of the whip she had used earlier and her foot hooked over Morgan's head before slamming him face first into the ground.

"He's being kicked around like a rag doll," Some of the marines whispered, watching the fight with wide eyes.

"WAIT!"

Luce turned her head to see Helmeppo standing next to Coby, a gun pointed at the pink haired boy. She followed through with her punch, knocking Morgan out before stepping away from the marine captain.

"I SAID TO WAIT!" Helmeppo whined. "NOBODY MOVE OR I'LL KILL HIM!"

The marines stared in shock at the normally timid son of the captain, almost holding their breath as they waited to see what the girl would do. Zoro's expression was blank but he too was curious as to what Luce would do.

"Luce! Don't worry about me!" Coby shouted, fists clenching. "I don't want to be in your way. I'm not afraid of death!"

"QUICKLY GUYS! CAPTURE HER AND ZORO!"

Luce removed her hat with a sigh and began to slowly walk towards Helmeppo.

The marines watched her, stupefied at her actions, did she want the boy to die? Zoro just fell into step a few feet behind her. For some reason he almost knew that she would be able to save Coby.

"I SAID, STAY BACK! I'LL KILL HIM! I SWEAR I'LL KILL HIM!" Helmeppo kept threatening Luce as she neared him, grabbing onto Coby's arm and holding the boy tighter against himself. Finally, Luce stopped only a few centimeters from Helmeppo, Zoro standing a few feet behind her; muscles tensed and ready for anything.

"Do you really intend to take someone's life, Helmeppo?" She asked quietly, lowering her face and letting her bangs fall into her eyes. Helmeppo opened his mouth to reply but Luce continued talking softly.

"I don't think you can, because you've never taken someone's life before. You've always let your Father do the killing for you…isn't that right?"

"YOU'RE WRONG AND I'LL SHOW I CAN KILL HIM!" Helmeppo pressed his gun on Coby's head harder but didn't pull the trigger as if his index finger had froze.

"Helmeppo...what exactly are you going to do after you kill Coby? Do you think your Father will be proud of you, is that it? You may have many bad qualities, Helmeppo, but you are not a murderer. If you kill Coby, you'll regret it for the rest of your life." Luce's voice never changed from the soft, calm tone and she smiled sadly at the blonde boy.

Helmeppo was shaking with tremors and his eyes welled up with tears. He sniffed and tried to come up with an answer but he had nothing, her words echoing through his head over and over. Did he really want to kill the boy? Would it going to prove that he was man enough for his Father to be proud of him? All his questions would forever be unanswered because…because the thought of murdering the boy made him sick. It wouldn't make him a man, it would make him…

He raised his eyes to see Luce smiling kindly at him, her hand patted his head. "Just this once, do what is right, Helmeppo. Be a better man than your father. It's going to be okay, Helmeppo, it'll be over soon. Just hand over the gun to me very slowly and this nightmare is going to end." She continued to soothe him with soft words, smile never leaving her face.

Helmeppo stared at her hand, the frightened expression still on his face as everyone waited in silence to see what would happen next. Finally, to everyone's surprise, Helmeppo slowly placed his gun in Luce's hand. The exchange seemed to take forever but she closed her fingers around it and smiled in accomplishment.

"Thank you, Helmeppo. Now this is going to hurt a little." Helmeppo didn't get chance to reply as she jabbed lightly between Helmeppo's shoulder and neck causing him collapse on the ground in a heap, freeing Coby.

The pink haired boy let out a slight sigh of relief before glancing over Luce's shoulder, eyes widening.

"LUCE! Behind you!"

Luce turned to see Morgan running towards her, ax-hand raised and eyes wild. "I am...the great Marine Captain Ax-hand Morgan!" His arm swung down in its arc and Luce knew it would hit her, she didn't have time to counter-attack and if she dodged his attack would hit Coby.

Suddenly Zoro was there, swords crossed, blocking the attack, his eyes flashing with anger.

With a growl he pushed Morgan back before slicing him with all three blades and knocking the marine away from his captain. With a final swing, Zoro sent Morgan crashing to the ground and everyone around knew he wouldn't be getting back up again for a while.

Luce watched as Zoro slipped his swords back into their sheathes before facing her.

"Thank you," She whispered softly.

"I'm just doing my job…Captain," Zoro replied with a grin. Luce grinned widely, hearing the word 'Captain' from Zoro made her feel good and bubbly inside.

"Are you ok Luce?" Coby asked worried, stepping up next to her. When she nodded happily he sighed with relief before continuing. "Thanks, Luce. You saved my life again."

"That was nothing. You were pretty brave Coby, willing to risk your life for your friends. You're going to be one heck of Marine," she praised, smiling happily.

Coby blushed and scratched his head in embarrassment as the marines threw up their hats and cheered. Morgan's reign of terror over them had finally ended!

Luce giggled and grabbed Coby's arm before pulling him into the crowd where some marines were starting to dance.

She smiled back at Zoro and waved for him to join but he shook his head before smiling.

He smiled, not because they won, he was smiling at Luce. She wasn't some ordinary girl and he knew joining up with her would be one hell of an adventure. Suddenly his vision began to swim and he let out a soft grunt before falling backwards onto the ground. Both Luce and Coby gasped with worry and quickly ran over to where Zoro lay, spread out, on his back.

"Zoro… Zoro, are you okay? What's wrong!" Coby asked panic causing his voice to crack. Zoro opened one eye slowly and glanced up at the two teens leaning over him.

"…I'm so hungry." His tone was hoarse with hunger and completely worn-out, and Luce sat back and blinked comically before throwing her head back and laughing.

-xXx-

Outside Rika's restaurant, people gathered around the windows to watch as the two heroes who had saved them stuffed themselves silly on countless amounts of food.

"Oh, ah boy, am I stuffed! I haven't eaten in three weeks, I was ready to eat my own clothes." Zoro rubbed his bulging belly happily as Rika, Coby, and Rika's mom watched and laughed. Zoro had already finished five plates of the delicious homemade food while Luce sat across from him, holding out her empty plate and asking for more.

"Hey, how the hell can you have a bigger appetite than a guy who hasn't eaten in three weeks?" Zoro asked, his eyes wide with surprise. "Aren't girls supposed to eat light and have a good figure?"

"It's good food. I guess it just tastes good, right Coby?" Luce said simply, digging into the fresh pile of food in front of her.

"Yeah, it's great! Thank you for the meal," Coby turned to express his gratitude to Rika's mom.

"My pleasure," She replied, cleaning a glass at the bar. "After all, you three saved this town. We owe you all a great debt." Her words echoed the sentiment that many citizens held towards the heroes of Shells Town.

"You're the coolest girl I've ever met! When I grow up I wanna be just like you," Rika said admiring her new found idol from her seat next to the she-captain.

"Thanks!" Luce replied cheerfully. "And I'll be even cooler when I become Pirate Kings and finds the One Piece and, of course, get the best crew on the seas!"

"So how many crew members do you have besides me?" Zoro asked. She took a bite of a piece of steak and answered.

"Just you."

"Wait you mean its just you and…me?" he pointed at her then himself with a dumbfounded expression on his face.

"Yep, it just us." Luce smiled cheerfully, taking another bite of the food.

"You know that doesn't count as a whole crew."

"So what? We're strong enough to take on anything."

"Fine. But do you at least have a decent ship?" Zoro sighed, conceding that point. They were both really strong. Luce pointed past him, this time with her fork, and he turned to follow her line of sight to the small dingy moored at the waterfront.

"…you're kidding, right?" his voice was tinged with exasperation and he glanced back at her in disbelief.

"Nope." Luce chuckled, popping her lips on the p-sound. "But we'll have a huge ship soon, just you wait and see." She threw her arms up in the air like a happy child getting a new toy. Zoro laughed at her antics and said.

"And how are you going to do that?"

"With a great big Pirate flag on top," she answered.

THUD

Now Zoro did fell anime style.

"How did I get myself sucked into this?" he asked himself.

"Come on, it'll be loads of fun." Luce said while smiling. Zoro rolled his eyes.

"Luce, where will you and your crew be traveling when you leave here?"

"Isn't it obvious? We're heading straight to the Grand Line!" Before Rika can utter a word, Coby spit out his juice and slammed the cup on the table before standing up and yelling.

"WHAT?! Have you completely lost it?! You CAN'T go to the Grand Line with just you and Zoro; that place is the hell of all four seas!"

"I heard about this place, but I just thought it was an awful place," said Rika, glancing at Luce worriedly.

"It's worse than you think!" Coby cleared a space on the table and began to draw a diagram on a napkin. "As you all know, this world has two oceans. We all live on one ocean that has been separated into 4 seas. Separating the north and south seas is the current known as the Grand Line, home to the roughest seas ever found anywhere. And separating the east and west seas is an enormous land mass called the Red Line. Legend tells that there is a town placed dead center on the Red Line, right where the Grand Line cuts through it on its path. Captain Gol D. Roger sailed the Grand Line and made it past the land mass of the Red Line. He traveled to the ocean that no one has ever documented and obtained the World's greatest treasure, the One Piece and made it back out alive. Shortly after he died, but his final words said that he had hidden his treasure somewhere in the Grand Line. Ever since then, pirates have traveled to the Grand Line searching for the One Piece. Today that place is a war zone with pirates ruthlessly killing one other. People have taken to calling it the Pirate's Graveyard." he finished his lecture, a grim look on his face as he stared down at his makeshift diagram.

"Well, that too bad, because that where we're going, right Zoro?" Luce asked, glancing at her first mate and completely ignoring the glaring threat that said they might both end up dead. Zoro just leaned back in his chair.

"I guess we have to live with it." He grinned.

"NO, you can't!" Coby shouted in panic.

"What do you care? It's not like you're coming with us," Zoro exclaimed, raising one eyebrow.

"No, but I still worry for you and Luce. Even though Luce and I have only known each other for a couple of days, I still consider her a friend, right Luce?" Coby asked timidly.

"Of course we're friends. Even if we part ways we'll always be friends," she said with smile, Coby was silent for a moment then a smile spread across his face.

"When I was just a little kid I didn't have any friends, much less anyone willing to fight on my behalf, so I never tried to fight for anything myself." Coby started by telling Luce and the others about his past life, and the time he endured alone before his eyes filled with hope and determination.

"But the two of you have taught me a lesson that couldn't have learned on my own; how to stand up for what I believe in and live my life the way I want. So, I will make my childhood dream a reality, I will join the marines!" Rika and Luce both grinned at Coby's declaration and resolve.

They were proud of him, especially Luce, she remembered how when she first met Coby he was nothing but a stupid and useless crybaby but now... Coby has grown into the opposite of what he was before, a brave and confident boy that will one day be a fine marine. Before she can respond to him, Zoro cuts her off.

"That all well and good but…I think you should be more worried about your current situation." Coby didn't get what Zoro meant, and the swordsman sighed before continuing.

"I mean you did say you spent two years serving under Captain Alvida's Pirate ship. Even if you were a Cabin boy, there against your own will, the Marine's information gatherers are top notch. Once they find out you were one of Captain Alvida's crew they'll never let you join."

"I…I never thought of that," Coby had totally forgotten about that and Zoro was right; after spending years with Alvida as her Cabin boy, serving her… He clenched his fists, he couldn't let it end like this, not after everything that had happened so far. Suddenly a group of Marines entered Rika's restaurant startling everyone in it. One Marine stepped forward probably the next commanding officer after Morgan's defeat.

"Are you guys by any chance, Pirates?" he asked respectfully.

"You got it! Zoro is the first member of my crew so this whole thing is official now," Luce replied, pointing happily at the swordsman.

"We appreciate what you all did to save us from the vicious tyrant Morgan who terrorized our town; however, now that we know you're both pirates, as marines we cannot sit idly by and let you do your business… Therefore you and your crew need to leave this town immediately. Out of respect for what you've done we will not report you to HQ." As he finished, Coby could hear the people of the town shouting in disapproval, stating that the marines were being unfair to them and that if it wasn't for them they would still be living in fear under Morgan's rule.

Before they could protest any more, Luce lifted a large sack filled with food over her shoulder and grinned. "Very well. Time to go, Zoro." She turned to Rika's mother and bowed respectfully. "Thanks for the food and everything."

"Wait, you can't leave now," Rika cried, grabbing onto Luce's shirt, saddened to see them go. Luce nodded seriously and patted Rika's head before following Zoro to the door. She passed by Coby without a word and the pink haired boy stared at the ground, frozen in place. The new commander of the marines stared at Coby before turning to face Luce.

"Wait, isn't he with you?" Both Zoro and Luce halted, their hands on the door and glanced back at Coby. The she-Captain stared at Coby seriously for a minute before grinning widely and saying.

"What I can tell is what is he's been doing up to this point." Coby spun around to gape at Luce.

'LUCE! NOO!'

"Yeah, he was serving under this big fat lady, I think her name was Alvodo or something."

'No, if they find out that I worked under Alvida, I'll never join the Marines!'

"She used to carry this huge mace around and let me tell you, she was the nastiest woman I have ever met. For two years, this wimpy kid was her private cabin bo-" Then all of a sudden Coby charged at Luce, hand clenched and ready to punch her, to stop her from talking any more but before he could Zoro was there, blocking Coby's punch with his open palm.

Zoro curled his fingers over Coby's small fist before grabbing the front of the pink haired boy's shirt with his other hand and throwing the boy back into the wall of the bar. The commander and marines were shocked to see the fearsome pirate hunter attack the poor boy and quickly stepped between them.

"That enough! It's obvious that this boy is not one of your crew so stop this fight and leave town this instant." Luce placed her hand on Zoro's arm and he nodded before leaving the restaurant. Luce took one last look at Coby and the boy saw a playful smirk spread across her face and he suddenly realized what they had done.

'… She did it on purpose…Luce did that just to help me out…she made me so mad that I tried to hit her. She probably would have let me punch her, but Zoro knew I'd feel terrible if I did so he stepped in to help. Even now, at the end, I'm still relying on the both of them so much. I couldn't do anything for myself, nothing's changed at all…I'm such an idiot!' With that last thought he picked himself up from the ground and faced the marine commander.

"Sir, please let me join the Marines." He begged, bowing forward in a proper military bow. "I'll cook, clean, scrub, I'll do anything you ask. I'll do anything to become a Marine." He said all of this without any signs of hesitation, he wouldn't back down, no matter what. The Commander stared at the boy, slight admiration in his eyes, and then his second in command stepped forward and whispered in his ear.

"Sir, I'm not sure if we should trust this kid. I think it might be best if we do a quick background check first," he suggests, eying Coby suspiciously.

Coby straightened up to his full height and clenched his fists at his side. "No matter what you find I'm the man who will become a Marine." Fire shone in his eyes and everyone around could tell that he was serious and dead set on doing this. He would become what he always wanted to be- a Marine, to save people and bring justice to all. Everyone stared at the boy in astonishment, then the Commander walked slowly past Coby and said.

"I can't tell you how many of our comrades have killed by Pirates over the years…but, permission to join granted." Coby smiled happily at him and turned to salute his new Commander.

-xXx-

"That was some act you pulled back there. I wouldn't be surprised if they saw right through it, though." said Zoro as he and Luce made their way to the docks. Luce giggled.

"Coby could handle the rest himself. I have faith in him." she said. Zoro nonchalantly shrugged his shoulders.

"Well, it's a real fitting way to leave this town with everyone hating us. Very pirate-like" he said as he and his captain got to the small boat. Luce giggled again.

"Yeah." she said as she began untying the post.

"Luce." the two turned to see Coby, Rika, and Rika's mother a few feet away. Coby saluted her." Thank you, Luce! You have done more for me than anyone else in this world has." he said. Zoro smirked.

"That's new. I've never heard a Marine thanking a pirate before. That's for the history books." he said. Luce grinned and she and Zoro got ready to leave. Once the boat was sailing, Luce waved.

"Bye! Hope to see you real soon!" she called.

"Bye, Luce." said Coby. Rika waved as well.

"Bye, Big sis Luce! Bye Big brother Zoro!" she called.

"SAALLLL-LLLUUTEEE!"

Coby turned to see the entire Marine base saluting to the leaving pirates." See ya!" called Luce as the ship sailed farther and farther away.

"You have a good friend." said the lead Marine to Coby. The gray-eyed boy felt tears drawing near but her cast them away.

'Yes. Luce is a good friend. And I know that somewhere, someday, somehow, we'll meet each other again. I can feel it.' thought the now Marine.

Luce smiled at the falling sunset. "Alright. The adventures finally coming to a beginning." she said. Zoro nodded.

"Yeah, and we'll probably face more of them real soon." he said. Luce giggled in agreement.

"Got that right." she said. Zoro then noticed something.

"Say, is there any reason why you want to be Pirate Kings?" he asked. Luce turned to him. Zoro saw the seriousness in her eyes.

"Just say that I have some debt to paid," Luce said while smiling as Zoro raised his eyebrow.

"With whom? Zoro asked as Luce looked at the sea.

"With the devil of course."

 


	4. Straw Hat

Somewhere in the middle of the ocean, three weird looking men sat on a small boat counting a large pile of treasure with greedy glee. They are the Tightrope Walking Funan Bros, members of the infamous Captain Buggy's Crew.

"Hehe, look how much loot we stole in only two days."

"All of this should keep Buggy from being mad at us."

"Hey, what's that?" one of them saw another smaller boat not too far from where they sailed.

"We should check it out," another said, tilting back the brim of the hat on his head.

They changed course and sailed their ship closer to the small rowboat and when they leaned over to take a peek inside. what they saw made them smile deviously. A girl with orange hair lay limp over one of the sides of the boat, appearing to be unconscious.

"Hey wake up, little girl," The pirate with the hat called, poking the girl's arm a few times. She stirred slightly and blinked up at the grinning men leaning over her. A soft smile came to her face and she said in a dazed voice.

"Ah, thank goodness, a rescue. Please, please, I desperately need water. I've been thirsty for two days, just please give me just one sip and I'll give you as much jewelry and valuables as you want. I just need water." She said weakly as she waved her hand dismissively towards a very fancy looking chest that sat at the opposite end of her rowboat.

The lid was closed but with its style it was probably filled with tons of treasure. The three pirates smirked at their luck, another treasure they could steal and a pretty girl to boot; things couldn't get much better than this.

"Don't worry, will help you. But first we want to see the treasure, then you can have as much water as you can stomach," said the Pirate who had first sighted the ship.

The three quickly made their way over to the girl's small rowboat and the third bent down to try and open the lock. With a _snap of his finger_ he threw the padlock away and just about to open it when suddenly a panda head spring from the chest like a jack-in-the-box.

The surprised pirates jumped back in shock and stared at the box in confusion when they heard a mischievous chuckle coming from behind them. All three quickly turned around to see the orangette girl sitting calmly in their boat, sailing further and further away from them.

"If you want, you can keep the whole thing it's not my style." She called cheerfully back to them.

"HEY, GET BACK HERE!"

"SHE STOLE OUR BOAT!"

"YOU TRICKED US!" They kept yelling and cursing at the thief who stole their boat and their stolen treasure.

Their Captain will be really mad at them now and probably kill them in a most sinful way; then the girl held one hand up to shade her eyes.

"From the look of those clouds moving in from the south, you guys should expect a strong wind and squall any time now." She said while looking a big cloud formed above them almost instantly, its edges sparking with lightning. Then the girl continued. "Also, a small boat like that won't last long in a storm." Once she finished the clouds drew closer and closer toward the three panicked Pirates.

It started to rain and a powerful wind is knocked the boat around, making it wobble and shake brutally, before flipping it over along with the pirates on board. The whole event lasted barely three seconds. The girl grinned in triumph, her plan had worked perfectly.

"BINGO, see ya! I'll just borrow whatever treasure you got here."

"GET BACK HERE YOU, BITCH!"

"WE'LL GET YOU FOR THIS-plurrbb!"

-xXx-

Meanwhile, Luce and Zoro had been sailing over the endless ocean for two days now with no island in sight and the food supplies disappeared quickly after the first day.

Zoro rested against his trademark napping spot at the bow of the boat, his three swords resting protectively in the circle of his legs. He watched Luce, his eyes bored, as the small captain hung over one of the wooden sides, fingers dancing across the waves.

"Soooo… hungry…" Luce moaned as she stared at her reflection of the ocean water.

"When are we gonna reach land anyway?" asked Zoro, arms crossed behind his head and eyes on the clouds of the sky. The two had already been sailing for a couple of days and they had already finished the food they had packed at the Marine Base City.

"Who knows? We've been sailing for a while by just the wind and the waves. Who knows when we'll reach land?" asked Luce, splashing the water a bit. Zoro raised his eyebrow and then scowled.

"Isn't the King or Queen of the Pirates suppose to know where their going?" he asked with a bit of irritation. Luce shrugged.

"Not really. I've just been sailing here and there." she said. She then turned to Zoro." What about you? Aren't you some expert bounty hunter who's been sailing for a long time?" she asked.

Zoro gave a nonchalant look."I don't have any recollection of calling myself a bounty hunter." he said. He then looked back to the sky. "I had set out to the sea in search of one man. I couldn't return to my village. At that point, I had no choice but to go after pirates to make a living." he said. Luce nodded and looked back at the water.

"Yeah, I see. So your just lost." she said simply. A vein popped on Zoro's head.

"You don't have to put it like that!" Zoro snapped, slamming his fist at the side of the boat. The small vessel rocked back and fourth and Luce's straw hat flew off her head. Luce felt her heart stop.

"Oh no! My hat!" she yelled. Zoro could see the look of fright in the raven-haired girl's eyes.

Was that straw hat that important to her? Either way, something made him run to the edge of the boat and grab the hat for his captain.

"Here." Zoro said, handing the hat toward the raven-haired girl.

"Thank you Zoro, really. This hat means the world to me."

Zoro shifted back into a comfortable sitting position and reached for his swords, his eyes still focused on Luce's happy face.

"You're welcome, captain." She placed the hat happily back on her head and turned to stare out at the endless sea, humming happily to herself. Zoro watched her, content, for a moment before a thought popped into his head.

"Hey, Luce?"

"Hmm?" She turned back to face him, head tilted in a curious manner.

"You said you promised someone you'd become Pirate King, right? Does that hat have anything to do with that promise?"

She giggled and pulled the hat over her eyes, her smile wide. "Yeah!"

"Then care to tell m-"

"Nope," Luce said with smile in her face.

A vein popped on Zoro's head, "I even didn't finish what I'm going to say yet." He said as Luce clasped her hand together with apologetic smile.

"Sorry, Zoro, but the promise told me to not say anything about that." Luce said with a smile that made Zoro can't say anything and grumbled. She took her hat off with one hand and stared at it fondly.

_“Hey Luce, do you know about this hat? This hat is something that your father values than anything in this world. It’s been with him through many fights. It’s something so precious that I am sure he wants to give it to you.”_

Luce giggled at that as Zoro who looked at her blushed.

"Hey, Luce, don't drop that again if it's so important," Zoro huffed crossing his arms over his chest and and looking away from his new captain. She smiled at him and placed it back on her head with a laugh.

"It is, thank you again Zoro." Luce grinned as Zoro sighed and looked down at his swords, stroking the white one lovingly.

Luce looked at him then leaned over his back to touch the white sword, "How did you get this?"

Zorro blushed as he felt her chest push up against his back, "It's a long story."

Luce blinked then crawled over him and sat in his lap and looked up expectantly, "Well are you going to tell me?"

"Why are you sitting in my lap?"

Luce pouted, "The wood wasn't comfy, you are much better than sitting on the floor."

Zoro sighed, he was going to have to go with whatever whim this woman had. "Fine, I guess I will tell you about this sword." He began telling her about his childhood and Kuina.

As the day went on he had stretched out and his captain had began to use him as a pillow and was sleeping, not even listening to his story.

Not that he minded, he had figured as much.

He looked back down at his childish captain, she was so much like Kuina, yet so different. She wanted something outlandish, yet unlike Kuina she did not see her limitations.

He brushed the girl's short black hair away from her face. She looked so delicate compared to what she acted. It was hard to believe the girl from earlier and her where the same person.

Luce woke up and stretched, punching Zoro in the face knocking him back, "Eh? Zoro why are you sleeping right now?" She shrugged and stood up and looked over the ship, "I'm still hungry."

Zoro rolled his eyes, 'I take back everything I was thinking a minute ago, this girl is a monster.' He looked over and saw her trying to catch fish with her bare hands. "What are you doing?"

"Fishing, I'm hungry." Luce replied as if it was obvious.

Zoro just rolled his eyes until he heard a splash. "Luce?"

Luce tried to keep her head above water, "Help…can't…swim"

Zoro quickly reached over and dragged her into the boat, "You idiot! Why can't you swim? Your going to be the Pirate King and you can't swim or navigate!"

Luce just giggled, "Well of course I can't swim, I ate a devil's fruit, remember? I lost my ability to swim then." Zoro was quiet and feeling guilty at his outburst. "But to be perfectly honest I couldn't swim before that either!"

Zoro laughed, "You sure are one interesting pirate."

Luce grinned as she used her sound ability to vibrate her white shirt dry and and leaned her head back to stare up at the blue sky before blinking.

"I think that's a bird up there. Maybe I can catch it."

"Go for it, captain." Zoro encouraged, not really paying attention. With a nod, Luce launched upwards towards the bird and for a moment it looked like she had caught it, but then Zoro looked closer and saw that the bird had grabbed her tightly in one of its claws and was quickly carrying her off. "Ahh! ZORO! Help!"

…

…

…

"WHAT THE HELL?! GET BACK HERE YOU OVERGROWN BIRD BRAIN AND GIVE ME BACK _MY_ CAPTAIN!" he rowed as quickly as his arms would allow him, trying to catch up with the bird, not realizing the statement he had just made.

In the middle of nowhere, the Tightrope Walking Funan Bros that has been tricked by the orange haired girl had been drifting for a long while with no end in sight when they suddenly spotted a small boat heading their way.

"HEY, WAIT, OVER HERE! MEN OVER BOARD! MEN OVER BOARD!" One shouted, waving his arms.

"Great, that just what I need" Zoro sighed, not slowing in his rowing. "I CAN'T STOP NOW! YOU'LL JUST HAVE TO JUMP IN!" He yelled back, continuing his journey. The three quickly grabbed on before he could ram them, trying to pull themselves up against the harsh current.

"Wow, I'm impressed that you made on board," he muttered under his breath.

"ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL US?!" they yelled at him together and then one of them stood up, drawing his sword and pointing it at the green haired man.

"Stop the boat; we're members of Buggy the Pirate's crew so the boat is ours now!"

BANG

BONG

BANG

"Hehehehe! we're sorry!" One of the pirates bowed to Zoro while the other two sat behind him, rowing the boat. They all had sizable lumps on their heads from where Zoro had easily beaten them and were now rowing the boat as an apology."We had no idea you were the great Pirate Hunter Zoro, please don't kill us."

"Great," Zoro hissed. "Thanks to you three idiots, I lost sight of her."

"Oh, I didn't know you had a girlfriend Mr. Roronoa, sir."

"SHE'S NOT MY GIRLFRIEND, YOU MORONS!" Zoro yelled with a look that could frighten Sea Kings…a tiny blush crossed his face, but despite that he still looked menacing.

"Y-y-yes, sir" they stuttered in fright. Zoro looked up at the sky to see if he could spot Luce and the bird anywhere but knowing her, she'd probably try to pull something off as soon as she saw land. He silently hoped she was alright, then mentally slapped himself for thinking so…mushy.

He distantly heard the three idiots talking about some girl that tricked them and stole their boat and treasure. In his mind that made them more than idiots. To be fooled by such a lame trick, then he heard them mention Captain Buggy.

"Huh, so who's this Buggy person?" Zoro asked.

"EH, you've never heard of Buggy the Clown?!" the three yelled, shocked that the famous East-Blue hunter had never heard of Buggy.

"Uhhh, nope" Zoro answered in uncaring tone. To him, that had to be the most ridiculous name he had ever heard. Buggy the Clown; what kind of pirates name is that? Then one of the pirates replied.

"He is the most ruthless pirate in the East-Blue. No one in their right mind would dare go against him and he's eaten one of the Devil Fruits! Above everything else he is truly one terrifying man."

-xXx-

In Orange Town, a once peaceful town on an East-Blue island, things were hectic. Buggy the Clown had recently caused havoc in the town, wrecking buildings and taking control of the main streets. The civilians had been forced to flee to the other side of the island because they were too weak to stand against the pirates.

The streets were quiet for the moment, until a mysteries and familiar girl slid around a corner, running from her life from a group of three men dressed like circus performers.

"Give us back or else," One shouted, raising his sword angrily.

"We just stole that and now this girl stole it from us," Another whined. "She's gonna pay." The girl spared a glance back and grinned smugly, feeling the chart of the Grand Line pressed securely against her stomach, under her shirt. It had almost been too easy, now she just had to get away from these guys.

"If we don't get that Chart back our Captain won't be too happy."

"Yeah, he'll kill us with his Devil Fruit powers!"

-xXx-

On top of the town hall building, there was a large tent with Buggy's flag on top. Inside sat Captain Buggy, hiding himself from plain sight and silently waiting for the crew he had sent out to recover his Chart. He appeared calm on the outside but those who knew him could see that he was seething with anger.

"Captain Buggy, I spotted something high in the sky above the port," one of his crew spoke when he spotted a giant bird thing in the distance.

"Well, shoot it down."

-xXx-

The girl continued to run, still finding no opportunity to lose the three pirates when a powerful explosion from one of Buggy's cannons echoed through the streets. The girl and her pursuers all stopped to look up, wondering what the cannon was shooting at. There seemed to be something, no, someone in the sky falling right towards them. As the figure got closer they could tell it was a girl.

"AAHHHHHH! ZORO!" She screamed as she fell. She landed with a loud BANG on a pile of crates near Nami, causing smoke and debris to surround them all.

"What the hell was that!" the girl asked in surprise.

"Is that…a girl fell out from the sky…" one of the Pirates said uncertainly.

"Don't be stupid, that's impossible," another hissed.

"Damn it, why does this always happen to me?" As the smoke cleared, the orangette and the Pirates gasped in surprise to see that it had actually been a girl that fell out of the sky. A young and pretty girl who climbed easily out of the rubble and brushed away dust from her hair and clothes.

"That was AWESOME!" She laughed, stretching her arms above her head. "Huh? I wonder what happened to Zoro?"

 

 

 

 


	5. Buggy the Clown

The orangette could hardly believe that the small girl had fallen out of the sky without a scratch.

When she stared closer she remembered that this girl had been on Alvida's ship when she was stealing that treasure earlier, talk about coincidence. And then she came up with an idea.

"Man, I'm so hungry" Luce moaned rubbing her stomach absently.

"Oh Boss, thank goodness you're here to save me," The orangette pulled out her happy, hopeful look to her 'Boss', while Luce stared at the girl with confusion and blinked.

"Who are you?" Luce had no idea that this girl had just pulled her into a bit of predicament and she hadn't yet taken notice of the three Pirates that had been chasing the orangette. They tightened their grip on their swords when she called Luce, Boss; but before Luce could repeat her question, the orangette had already made a break for it.

"They're all yours, Boss. Have fun," then she disappeared into the alleyway. Luce looked at the girl and then toward the pirates blinked in confusion, not really understanding what was going on.

"Hey, that girl is getting away," said Pirate #1.

"Don't worry, we got her Boss now," said Pirate #2.

"Yeah, you're right!" The last chuckled before stepping closer to Luce. "You're in trouble, girlie. You shouldn't have let your crony friend escape." Luce turned around at the man's words to stare at the 3 really ugly looking Pirates, still confused of what's going on. Suddenly she heard another rumble in her tummy, and she sighed before asking them.

"Do you guys know where I can find a good restaurant? I'm starved." she said.

"Food is least of your worries now," Pirate #1 commented as he darted forward, punching Luce hard in the face and knocking her hat off of her head. Luce glared at the pirates as they knocked down unconcious with foam formed from their mouth.

"That's teaching you to not punching girl's face." Luce sighed as she heard the sound of clapping.

"Wow, you're really strong for a young girl," the orange haired girl said, impressed by the girl that had taken down three pirates all by herself.

Luce glanced up when she heard a voice and spotted the same girl from earlier, leaning over the edge of the rooftop. The orangette jumped down when she noticed the coast was clear and walked up to Luce.

"Even though they have swords, you managed to beat them up with your bare hands." She hadn't actually seen Luce fight but it didn't appear that the raven haired girl used any weapons.

"Hey, you're that girl who set me up, who are you?" Luce asked, her tone didn't sound mad but she tilted her head, curious as to why the girl did that.

"I'm a talented thief who steals strictly from Pirates, the name's Nami." She replied. "Hey, you want to team up with me?"

"A thief? No way," Luce laughed, sticking out her tongue. With that said she stepped past Nami, glancing around for any signs of somewhere to get something to eat.

"Hey, hold on. At least think about it for one minute." Nami ran after the girl to make her change her mind. Before Nami could open her mouth again, a vicious growl came from Luce's stomach making them both stop.

"Ooohhh! I'm so hungry~" Luce groaned, trying to rub her belly in a calming manner, as if reassuring it she would find food soon. Nami felt slightly sorry for the girl and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Why don't you come with me and I'll get you something to eat." She stumbled back slightly in shock when Luce suddenly jumped and gave Nami her signature D grin.

"Really?! Thank you so much!" She shouted happily and Nami just sighed in exasperation at the weird girl.

Back at the tent, one unlucky crew member had just delivered the bad news to Captain Buggy. He prayed to his God to spare his soul from his cruel Captain who could easily kill him instantly.

"So you're telling me that those buffoons haven't caught the thief or gotten my map back" Buggy hissed from inside his tent.

"N-not yet, b-b-but they should be here soon with the girl and the map, s-s-sir" said the fat and bearded man.

"Now, explain to me how in the world she managed to get her hands on that chart, huh?" His voice was low with anger and the fat man backed away in fear. He knew how important that chart was, it would get them into the Grand Line without any trouble, but it was stolen and Captain Buggy wasn't so happy about that.

"How are we supposed to go the Grand Line without the Chart in our possession?" The captain's blood was boiling with every minute that passed and he felt like it would burst at any moment if the chart wasn't returned to him soon.

"I don't know, sir. The map was just sitting out, plain as the nose on your face."

"What…did you say?" Buggy cringed, his glare deepening and eyes flashing. The pirate suddenly realized what he just said and quickly tried to come up with reason to save himself.

"I-I-I mean it was easy for her to find and take it." Well, the keyword was 'try'.

"DID YOU SAY SOMETHING ABOUT MY NOSE?!" Buggy tossed the chair that he had been sitting on and glared heatedly at the man who had mocked him about his nose.

He walked out of the tent, finally exposing himself to the bright sunlight. He looked just how people described him, like a clown.

He was Buggy the Clown. Even though his name sounded ridiculously stupid he wasn't a clown that played practical jokes, made funny faces or juggled and whatnot.

No, Buggy was one of the fiercest pirates with a bounty of fifteen million Berri. Though his clown-like attire and make up could fool you, if he was made fun of in the slightest then he would take his sweet time exacting revenge. He leaned down to glare at the fat man, bringing their faces close and letting their noses touch.

"Are you trying to tell me that you found my nose funny, is my nose amusing?"

"N-n-no sir, you misunderstood."

"Oh no, you were quiet clear." The fat bearded man trembled under the menacing gaze of his Captain.

He tried to back away but he only ended up tripping and landing on his butt. He continued to try and escape, wriggling backwards. The rest of the crew were too chicken to help their crew-mate in need because their Captain would kill anyone who tried to interfere.

As the fat man tried to get away he suddenly felt a tight grip wrapping around his throat.

His captain was using his Devil power on him and now that he was trapped under Buggy's wrath, he began to choke and gag as the force around his throat continued to tighten. As it became even stronger, he was lifted off the ground and began moving towards Captain Buggy. Buggy smiled menacingly as he approached, he always enjoyed tormenting his own men for fun.

"Tell me who am I" he asked sweetly.

"Cap...tain…Bu...ggy..."

"And what happen if someone defies me?" he asked again.

"Flashy 'ugh' death awaits 'gh' them, please…forgive 'ugh' me" Then Buggy released his power and let him drop to the ground, allowing the pirate to take in deep lungfuls of air and massage his sore throat.

"Quit your groveling. I'll overlook your slip up and forgive you this time." Then he twirled around to walk back to his tent but before that he entered he paused and said.

"But, you better get that chart back. Don't screw up again or else."

"YES, SIR, CAPTAIN BUGGY, SIR!" His crew shouted with a salute to Captain Buggy and quickly spread out to find the girl and the chart.

-xXx-

"Mmmm~… this is really good." Luce mused as she ate her burger in one bite, smiling at it's juicy taste. "So, do you live here all by yourself?" she asked as she swallowed the chewed remains of her burger. She and Nami were in a giant house that Nami had led her to.

"No, this isn't my home. I'm just staying here for a while. Everyone vamoosed when Captain Buggy and his crew showed up." Nami explained. Luce gave a small burp.

"Oh, I see. So you're just a petty thief." she said.

"Hey, that's rude. I don't steal from just anybody. Just people who deserve it. Like no-good pirates. So don't go comparing me to petty thieves and robbers." Nami said. Luce took a bite out a roll.

"A thief's a thief, as far as I'm concerned." she said with a shrug. Nami looked to the window.

"My goal is to get a hundred-million gold coins, and I won't let nothing or no one stop me from reaching my goal." she said. Luce gulped down her food.

"Why do you need so much gold?" she asked. Nami crossed her arms over her chest.

"That's a secret. But with this chart of the Grand Line, my goal will soon come true." she said. Luce placed her hand on her chin.

"A chart? So you must be a navigator, right?" she asked. Nami smiled an nodded.

"Yep. I bet I'll be the most skilled navigator you'll ever meet." she said. Luce smiled and she stood up.

"That's great. How would you like to join my crew? I've been looking for a navigator." Luce said with bright smile.

"You mean it?" she asked. Luce ginned and nodded.

"Yeah, you can be our newest crew member." she said. Nami's grin flatten.

"No." She said, her voice as flat as her frown. Luce's grin was gone as well. "Let me guess, you're on a pirate crew, right?" asked Nami. Luce's gin appeared once more.

"Yup!" Luce said as Nami sighed.

"There is nothing in this world that I despise more than Pirates!" She hissed voice rising to a shout. "I only like money and tangerines." Luce blinked in surprise at the last item…did she say tangerines?

"C'mon. Be our navigator! It'll be fun," she whined, trying to persuade Nami with a smile.

"I said no!"

"It's your loss." she said as she ate her food while Nami watched the town in silence.

She spotted two of the Buggy Pirates and quickly hid, turning to listen into their conversation. She overheard them mention her and the stolen chart and also that the entire buggy crew was all over the place, making sure that there was no chance of escape. As they rounded another corner, out of her hearing range, she frowned.

'I gotta think of something and fast' then she looked at Luce still eating and smirked.

"You know, maybe I will consider joining your crew, but only if you agree with some certain conditions," Nami said faking her smile.

"Really? Alright, I'll do anything."

"Well, then I want you to come with me to pay a visit to Captain Buggy. But first," then she brought out a rope and swiftly tied it around Luce's chest and torso, tying her hands behind her back as well.

Luce looked at the ropes then back up at Nami. "Why did you tie me up?"

"The rope is for appearances. It's how Buggy's Crew meets new members." Nami explained thinking up a quick lie.

"Oh okay. C'mon then, I've been looking forward to meeting other Pirates." Luce began to hum excitedly, rocking back and forth as if she was a child getting her Christmas presents.

"Just hold your horses! I don't know what the big deal is anyway," Nami huffed standing up and beginning to walk towards Buggy's lair, Luce being dragged behind her.

-xXx-

"WHAT!" Buggy yelled with so much fury and anger that it shook the ground under him like an earthquake.

"YOU LET THE THIEF ESCAPE!" the three he yelled at were the same goons that had been chasing Nami before being knocked out by Luce. Now they cowered in fear as their Captain howled above them like an enraged Sea King.

"Please, forgive us, Captain Buggy!" the three begged in unison.

"I have never seen a more pathetic group than you three, TIME TO DIE!" The group screamed helplessly but before Captain Buggy could kill them with his Devil Fruit power, one of his Crew called, say that he had important news.

"What is it now?!" he asked annoyed, wanting to kill the worthless rats, who sighed in relief at the stay of execution.

"The girl that stole our chart is back, but with a prisoner."

"WHAT?" Buggy screeched in disbelief. He turned to stare as the orange haired girl approached his tent, dragging a younger raven haired girl behind her, tied in ropes. Buggy's Crew were confused at the girl's return and wondered who the other girl was, the group that had been chasing Nami got angry that because of her they had almost died at the hands of Buggy the merciless.

"That's her."

"That the sneaky thief that stole the chart!" They were surprised even more when the girl pushed her prisoner onto the ground hard, surprising Luce and Buggy both. Nami felt vaguely bad for doing that to Luce but business was business.

"I captured the thief, Captain Buggy the Clown, and here is your chart back." Nami said, calmly holding out the chart.

"Not that I don't appreciate this, but why the sudden change of heart, little girl?" Buggy asked carefully, conscious that she might try to trick him again like last time. Nami handed the chart to Buggy who gladly took it

"I had another fight with my Boss and I just can't take it anymore so I tricked her. I tied her up and have come to join your crew." Nami smiled cheerfully. Buggy's eyes flickered with rage and the crew flinched in terror at the uncontrollable anger on his face.

"Captain Buggy looks madder than before."

"He's going to use his Devil powers."

"Really?!" Luce was surprised to hear that this clown guy was a devil user like her, and watched curiously as Buggy's anger melted away and he began to laugh loudly.

"You're fed up, huh? I must admit you're an amusing girl. I like you, of course you can join my crew now!" Then he laughed again. Nami was stunned, she hadn't seen this coming, he was acting like he had completely forgotten that she stole his chart from him. Nevertheless, he had made her a part of his crew right away so her plan had worked and she put on her best fake smile.

'I successfully infiltrated them. Pirates are so dumb and easy to manipulate,' Nami thought disdainfully. Then Buggy ordered the three of his crew who had failed to capture the thief to put Luce in a cage. So, still tied up, Luce was thrown in a very small square cage.

"Uh guys, why I am in the cage?" She asked calmly, but she was ignored by Buggy and his crew who were now chuckling evilly with the girl who had became a new member of Buggy Pirates.

"Is a great day to be a pirate. Girl, what do you call yourself?" Buggy asked her.

"I'm Nami."

"HA HAA! Then let's have a welcome party to our new friend, Nami! Let's celebrate!" Buggy threw his hands up gleefully and his crew couldn't deny such a request.

The party started with the biggest feast they had ever seen with hundreds of bottles of Sake to go with it.

They ate and drank in very unusual ways; some drank straight from the large barrel, some drank eight mugs of Sake in one go. The same went for food, and then there also performances like those you would see in the circus. Chair dancing, juggling, hand walking, pogo sticking and many more.

"What's wrong?" Buggy asked Nami, handing her a mug. "We're throwing this party in your honor, so eat up!" He commanded

"Thanks for the party, Captain Buggy!" Nami smiled but then her smile turned into a smirk.

'I'll just keep my eyes peeled for a chance to take back my chart and maybe swipe all of Buggy's treasure while I'm at it.' As she formulated her plan in her head, the party continued for who knows how long. Buggy laughed and watched the spectacular party taking place and the look in his eyes was wide and crazy as he thought of a perfect way to make his party more wild.

"This is such a flashy party! Now listen up, men, it's time to prepare the Buggy Ball!" the crew's cheers doubled in volume as they brought out their cannon.

They secured the cannon to the ground to keep it at bay and then a small-sized clown pirate who wore a yellow sleeveless shirt and a yellow and purple striped cone hat carried forward Buggy's Buggy Ball. The cannonball was painted in red with Buggy's Jolly Roger engraved on it and the pirate put the cannonball inside the cannon ready and loaded. Nami had no idea what these pirates were up to.

"W-what are you going to do with that thing?" She timidly asked but regretted her question when she saw the sinister look on Buggy's face.

"Just observe and be amazed at the might of the Buggy Ball. Light it," he ordered. The man lit the cannon and aimed it at the…empty houses of Orange Town.

Nami watched in horror while Captain Buggy and his Crew smiled darkly as the cannon shot the Buggy Ball, destroying twenty houses in a row in a massive explosion.

-xXx-

At the port, Zoro and the three cronies he had 'rescued' arrived just in time to witness the explosion that destroyed multiple houses in one shot.

"Now that was one heck of an explosion," Zoro whistled, mildly impressed.

"It looks like one of the Captain's beloved Buggy Balls," one of the pirates said.

"Buggy Balls?" he smirked, that was a terrible name.

-xXx-

Back at Buggy's tent, Captain Buggy and his crew laughed cruelly at the dramatic bang that echoed across the town, signaling that another part of Orange Town had been destroyed.

Nami couldn't take her eyes away from the dreadful sight, she had never seen such a powerful blast like that before. With that kind of eruption they could destroy an entire island with only two shots.

"That was flashy! With these Buggy Balls and my devil fruit powers I should have no problem conquering the Grand Line, right Nami?" he asked his new crew mate.

"Uh... oh yes, of course!" Nami knew she did not want to make Captain Buggy mad or he'd probably use her as a target practice for his Buggy Ball.

"Huh, but it's my destiny to conquer the Grand Line." Luce said confused from her seat in the cage.

Buggy turned around and shot an angry glare at the annoying pest who had disturbed his enjoyment but Luce wasn't finished yet. "After all I'm the one who will become the pirate king."she continued with sure tone.

"Shut up already, idiot" Nami shouted, slight worry in her tone, and Buggy chuckled.

"I can see why you sick of her, Nami."

"Yeah, I know, right? She never takes anything seriously, thinks her life is like big game. She's such a kid." The navigator sighed.

"I see…then how about I give you a Buggy Ball to blow away your old boss? It'll be a great opportunity for you to prove your loyalties to your new Captain. Men!" he asked. Nami took a small intake of breath with wide eyes.

The Buggy Pirates moved the cannon and aimed it at Luce but the raven haired girl didn't look the least bit scared that there was a loaded cannon ready to blast her to oblivion. Nami's mind was racing, she needed to think of something fast before it was too late.

"That alright, Captain! We don't need to finish her off quite yet, let's get back to the welcoming party and have fun instead!" She tried to persuade Buggy, trying to save Luce, but the look on Buggy's face told her that there was nothing she could do.

"This is my idea of fun!" Buggy said with a crazed look.

He gave Nami a match to light up the cannon, and stood back. Nami glanced at the matches in her hand and then back up to where Luce sat calmly. She didn't know what to do and Buggy's crew was cheering her on which made the matter worse.

'If I don't shoot, I'll be killed…but if I do shoot then I'm no better than these Pirates,' Her mind was racing to find a way to get out of this situation but none of her plans would work now. It was pointless.

Luce stared at Nami blankly, who was sweating and shaking in distress. "What's the matter? Your hands are shaking," The pirate girl asked confused. Nami glanced down at her hands and then back up to the smiling girl.

"That's what happens when you take on pirates with a half ass resolve." Luce continued.

"Resolve?! To do what? To kill someone like it's nothing?! Is that the Pirate's resolve?" Nami screamed, clenching her fists.

"No…you gotta be willing to risk your own life," Luce stated calmly.

Nami gasped when she saw the look in her eyes, those eyes that reminded her of… Then someone grabbed the box of matches from her limp hand and she jumped in surprise, seeing one of Buggy's crew members.

"Here, you chick. Don't be such a tease and let me show you how to light the cannon." Before the pirate could light strike the match, Nami had her three part wooden staff that she kept on her right thigh put together turning it into a six foot Bō Staff. She smacked the pirate hard across the face causing him to drop to the ground unconscious.

Captain Buggy and his Crew gaped at Nami's actions while Luce was awed at her fast reflexes.

"Nami~ what is the meaning of this?!" Buggy asked, looking very pissed. Nami quickly realized what she had done and quickly bowed towards Captain Buggy.

"I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me," she apologized.

"Now you're sorry?! Just shoot her already," Buggy barked.

"So…now you want to save me?" Luce was confused at Nami's actions, first Nami betrayed her and now she tried to save her and now she was on his side again, talk about weird.

"Don't be stupid, I'm not doing this for you, you idiot! I just don't want to lower myself to the level of these inhumane Pirates! Pirates took the life of a very dear person from me and I'll never be one of them!" yelled Nami. Luce nodded understandingly.

"Oh, I see." she said as she suddenly heard something hissing, and she looked up to see that the cannon had been lit up by the pirate before Nami had knocked him out. "AAAAHHH! Nami, the fuse!" Nami turned to see that the fuse had indeed been lit.

"So you think Pirates are inhuman filth, is that right? GET HER MEN!" Four of Buggy's crew rushed in with their blades ready.

Nami saw it and quickly swung her Bō Staff to hit them but the four jumped and tried to strike with their swords again. But Nami was too quick and blocked their attacks, then she threw her Staff at the Pirates and turned to sprint to the cannon.

Nami panicked slightly, she didn't have water to douse the fuse so she had to come up with a different method. She grabbed the fuse with both hands, hissing in pain as it burned her palm but she refused to let go until the flame had gone out.

Luce couldn't believe that Nami had endangered her hands to save her and still hadn't let go. She was very daring. Nami hung onto the fuse until the flame had finally died down before sighing in relief and letting her hands drop. 'I did it.'

"NAMI, LOOK OUT! BEHIND YOU!" She heard Luce's alarmed yell and turned to see a group of pirates charging her with swords.

She closed her eyes waiting for death, her arms rising futilely to protect her. When no pain came she cracked open her eyes hesitantly to see a man with shocking green hair had stopped them by using the sheaths of two of his swords.

"Hey now, it's not nice of you guys to gang up on a defenseless girl." asked a certain, dark-green eyed man. Luce's face split with her signature grin.

"Zoro!" she exclaimed happily. Nami stared at Zoro, seeing the swordsman almost perk up at the sound of his name but he didn't smile. He just turned a glaring face towards Nami.

"Are you hurt?" Zoro asked.

"Eh?"

"I said, are you hurt?" he asked. Nami nodded uneasily.

"N-no I'm fine, I think." Nami answered. Zoro nodded before pushing the pirates away and turning to look at Luce. Nami saw Zoro's expression soften when he saw Luce grinning at him, a mix of emotions such as relief, anger, and mild irritation crossing his features.

"That's just great." He sighed, hiding the relief he felt at seeing her alive. "First a giant bird snatched you and now you're in a cage. How did you get yourself in this situation?" He asked as Luce only grinning.

"Shihehehehe yeah, this is an interesting story actually." The girl chuckled happily, excitement at the possibility of seeing Zoro fight rising in her. As the duo spoke to each other, the pirates began to quiver at the mention of his name and the iconic bandana wrapped around his arm.

"Wait, that's…"

"Yeah, that's him. The great bounty hunter of the East Blue, Roronoa Zoro."

'The Crew that she mentioned earlier was…the Pirate Hunter, Zoro? What's going on here?' Nami never would have imagined that Zoro was Luce's crew member, that didn't make any sense at all.

Why would a pirate hunter work under the command of a female pirate captain?

Zoro didn't have time to deal with this, and frankly, he didn't want to, so he ignored the pirates around him and began to make his way over to Luce's cage, intending to set her free. He had taken 3 steps when suddenly Captain Buggy spoke.

"So…you're the Roronoa Zoro that I've heard so much about. If you're here for my head, you've got quite a struggle before you."

"No, not interested. I gave up pirate hunting, I'm just here for the girl," Zoro replied in a bored tone.

"But I'm interested though. Killing you would boost up my reputation." Buggy's tone suggested he was confident that he could take down Zoro.

Luce frowned at that, she knew Zoro couldn't be beaten that easily, she had seen her first mate fight and knew that she still hadn't seen his best yet. If he could defeat Captain Morgan with little effort she didn't think that this clown guy stood much of a chance.

"If you try, you'll die." he muttered darkly.

Nami shivered at Zoro's look and at the dangerous edge to his voice when he addressed Buggy. They called him the Demon of East Blue and the ice in his gaze made her think that the rumors were, for once, right.

She was immensely thankful that the swordsman didn't know that she had been the one to let his captain get captured. She didn't want that anger directed at herself. Buggy, however, ignored the threat in his eyes and voice and drew ten daggers out, eight daggers in both hands between each finger and two attached to the ends of his shoes.

"Oh, is that so?" Buggy taunted. Zoro sighed, this guy was getting to be annoying.

"I tried to warn you but oh well." He muttered. The Buggy crew cheered on their captain, believing that he could win, and Buggy licked one of his blades as Zoro put his Wado Ichimonji between his teeth and readied his other two swords.

Nami and Luce watched from the sidelines, both staring intently at the two fighters but Luce knew Zoro. Her swordsman was the best and he could beat that stupid clown easily. She was actually a little disappointed that she wouldn't get to watch him fight for real.

Zoro and Buggy faced each other, each waiting for the other to make the first move. Finally, Buggy charged forward, tired of waiting, and Zoro grinned. He had been waiting for the right moment to strike.

"DIIIEEE!" Before Buggy could lay a scratch on him, Zoro had leapt from the ground and sliced straight through Buggy, cutting him in half. Nami turned away from the gruesome sight of what was left of Buggy as Zoro put his swords back in their sheathes.

"That wasn't much of fight now, was it?" He grumbled.

"Oh wow, he's weak. Way to go, Zoro!" Luce cheered, awkwardly clapping her hands together despite the ropes wrapped around her wrists and arms.

"Incredible" Nami breathed, and then all of a sudden Buggy's crew started to laugh.

"Hey, why are they laughing?" asked Luce, seemingly confused at the crew's actions.

"Their Captain is lying dead on the ground and yet they're still laughing, what's going on?" said Nami, slight disgust in her tone. "Hey, what's so funny anyway?"

Unknown to Zoro, one of the dead Buggy's hands had risen, independent of its body and had surged forward, one knife grasped in it. It stabbed Zoro through the back, on his right side, missing anything vital but causing a lot of pain. He let out a cry of pain as blood soaked through his shirt and down his haramaki and he dropped to one knee in pain.

"ZORO!" Luce cried. Nami turned around and was shocked to see Buggy's hand and the rest of his body parts that had been cut off by Zoro were moving on their own.

"Buggy's still alive?!" Then the hand that held the dagger pulled back out making Zoro wince as the knife was removed from his side.

"W-what the h-hell?!" He snarled, turning his head to watch as Buggy stood up, slowly reattaching his limbs to his body.

"The Chop-Chop Fruit, it's the name of the Devil Fruit that I ate. I'm Chop-Chop person and I can't be defeated by swords! HAHAHAHAHAHA!" He laughed with glee and did a small victory dance as he rose.

"His limbs reattached themselves? I always thought that devil fruits were just a story that pirates told." Nami was stunned to see a real-life devil fruit power.

"I didn't hit any vital origins but that's a serious wound you got there so I'm guessing that I'm the winner." Buggy laughed again along with his crew and Zoro winced at another surge of pain shot through his right side. He shut his eyes and tried to breathe through the pain, one hand putting pressure against the wound.

'Oh crap, if we don't do something quick they'll go and kill all three of us,' Nami thought, eyes darting around the rooftop.

"I… I let me guard down. That… that was a w-weak move…" he muttered as his wound began feeling like an intense fire. Luce looked at the swordman with calm eyes as she took a deep breath.

"STABBING HIM IN THE BACK WAS A COWARDLY MOVE, YOU BIG NOSE!"

DOOOOOOON

A big Blue energy torrent suddenly came from the cage as it destroyed the cage and revealed the unharmed Luce and the surprised Nami beside her.

"Luce..." Zoro said as Luce walked front.

"Hey, big-nose over there." Luce said, crackling her fist. "I'm going to kick your ass now." She said as Buggy's pirate crews gulped.

"HAHAHAHAHA! You? Kick my ass?! Strong words for a little girl, but no, I'm afraid all three of you are going to die here today by my own hands. So if you're going to do any ass kicking, you better do it soon HAHAHAHA!" Buggy continued to laugh at Luce's strong words.

'Damn it, if I wasn't in this condition I would give this guy a piece of my mind. He's too full of himself.' Zoro silently cursed the clown captain for underestimating Luce. But instead of angry at the clown's taunt, the she-pirate laughed. Buggy and his crew stopped their laughing, watching the raven-haired girl, some wondering if she had cracked.

"Zoro," Luce called. "Closed your ears, ok."

"Eh?"

"And you too Nami, close your ears." Luce said, before Nami or the other pirate crew moved; Luce released a blast of blue energy from her whisper, blasting Buggy and his Crew off of the roof and out into the city.

It wasn't until after the blast of blue energy had receded did Nami shake herself out of her stupor and uncover her ears. She turned to scan the area for Zoro and was shocked to find that instead of taking cover like she had when the blast of energry released, the swordman was still standing near the she-pirate.

Staring at them, Nami cautiously pushed herself to her feet and after swiftly looking at the unconscious wreck of Buggy's crew and reassuring herself that they would not be getting up anytime soon, made her way over to Luce.

"Hey, Zoro are you sure you're ok?" Luce asked timidly, watching Zoro's blood drip to the rubble.

"Sh-shut up and don't worry about me. I'll… I'll get us out of this, one way or another." muttered the injured man through his clench teeth as he tried to walk again. Zoro then noticed Nami. "By… By the way, Luce. Who's the girl?"

"Oh, she's our new navigator." Luce said simply as Zoro felt the pain of his wound increase and his blood began to run quicker.

At this, Nami stiffened angrily. "Who says?" She sniffed haughtily. "I already told you kid- I _hate_ pirates!"

Luce looked put out and slightly annoyed. "But I'm saying," she answered, as if that was all that mattered. Zoro started chuckling, glancing at Nami's infuriated glare with amusement. "Yeah, didn't you hear her?" he let out, grinning. " _Luce_ says."

Nami actually stamped her foot, only slightly, before huffing. "You two are impossible!" She accused the pirates. "First you're all so happy and casual about Buggy- an extremely dangerous pirate captain- then you're all crazy and ready to fight- even after you've sustained serious injuries- and now this! Acting like children!"

"Yeah, whatever," Zoro answered uninterested, turning away from her to Luce. "Hey do you know where is hospital? With this wound I won't be able to swing my swords properly."

"I don't. Nami do you know any hospital here?"

Nami shook her head at the two of them and glanced over at the unconscious Buggy.

She should really grab what she could and get out of here now. It was how she did things; how she survived. But, Luce had really helped her… twice… She couldn't just leave the girl and her green-headed buffoon here to die.

Setting off with determined strides, the arguing of Luce and Zoro faded behind her as she made her way toward Bug-

DASH

Suddenly Luce jumped in high speed toward a very far distance, crushing the nearby buildings. "Holy crap..." Nami muttered in surprised, before taking off after the two insane pirates. "What are you doing?" she hissed, finally catching up to them, shocked at the amount of distance that the black haired pirate had covered in short time.

"Searching for hospital." Luce said with confused look.

"By the way is there any restaurant here, I'm hungry..." Zoro said.

"Ah, right! We should search for food for you too, Zoro! Luckily that I already found that super delicious burger restaurant!" Luce grinned at that.

"Really? I hope that they have rum too." Zoro smiled.

"Alright then let's go!" Luce said as she vanished from her place again.

Nami slowed to a stop at that, finding it almost too hard to believe. Just how long had these two known each other? To go that far for the other, no questions asked…

She found herself remembering that one moment in the fight, when Luce had called out to the staggering, bleeding Zoro, and with one connected, knowing look, Zoro had gained reassurance, strength, confidence, and had known exactly what to do. Nami found herself marveling at their connection. It was… truly something beautiful. Something neither of them seemed to consciously notice yet still held close, as if protecting it.

What… what kind of fricken pirates were these strange two?

 


End file.
